Actress Sofia Vergara and businessman Nick Loeb — a scion of the Loeb and Lehman banking dynasties — broke off their engagement back in 2014 after four years as a couple. The following year, she married actor Joe Manganiello.
But more than four years later, Nick, 43, remains fixated on Sofia, 46, an old friend tells Page Six, and continues to do whatever he can to remain linked to her — which in the last two years has meant pursuing a headline-making legal war to gain custody of two female embryos they created and froze while they were a couple, despite multiple judgements against him, as well as writing, directing and funding an anti-abortion movie called "Roe v. Wade" starring conservative actors Jon Voight and Stacey Dash, which is shooting this summer.
"He is obsessed with Sofia," the old friend tells Page Six, "[and] he's using [the embryo battle and the movie] to promote himself."
Nick — who's also known as the founder of condiment company Onion Crunch — told Page Six he's "happy for Sofia that she finally found someone to make her happy. I wanted a family, something that she wasn't ready for, so I moved on." But, as the New York Post's gossip column points out, his actions including the legal battle and his movie dreams betray that claim.
The old friend describes Nick as a real-life "Arthur," the outrageously wealthy, spoiled heir to a family fortune who was brought to life on the big screen by comedians Dudley Moore and, later, Russell Brand.
"Nick doesn't like to be told no," the old friend told Page Six. "He was always egocentric, arrogant and self-centered." According to people who know him now, the outlets adds, Nick remains "very arrogant" and is someone who "likes to get his way."
Nick, added the old friend, "had the money to help make himself famous but was always a little bit sad. He'd take everybody out and pay for everything. He was kind of a showoff — a rich kid with no real friends but he liked attention."
One of his buddies of the last 20 years went on the record with some real talk about the wealthy businessman. "[Nick] is used to people doing things for him," fashion designer Ivy Supersonic told the Post. "He comes from a certain kind of background… and I can only put up with so much before I have to leave."
She confirms that Nick's "Roe v. Wade" film — in which he'll also appear — is directly related to his legal drama with Sofia. "The movie came about because of his case. And he has the money and [the Roman Catholic] Church behind him," Ivy added. "He feels those embryos are his children."