Caitlin O’Connor and her fiancé Joe Manganiello are done with Los Angeles.
The TV host confirmed to People magazine in December that she and the actor had left the city after calling it home for more than 20 years and moved back to Pittsburgh, where they both grew up. The outlet reported that the newly engaged couple had relocated to Mt. Lebanon, a suburb of the western Pennsylvania city.
“The crime in Los Angeles is at an all-time high,” the 36-year-old told Fox News Digital. “We were thinking about it for a long time, and the right house happened to come up. We went to look at it in Pittsburgh, and it was perfect for us.”
“Also, LA is no longer the entertainment capital of the world,” she shared. “Actors do not audition there anymore. Many casting directors don’t have offices there anymore.
“For the most part, everything is on Zoom. A lot of premieres happen in New York. There are studios being built in New Jersey, and things are moving overseas. Many projects are being filmed overseas, even by professionals who have worked in LA on set their whole lives. The industry has moved. It’s no longer there.”
“I think after COVID and the strikes [in Hollywood], things have evolved, things have changed,” she noted. “You can really work from anywhere, and you can travel to wherever you’re filming from your home base. That’s why we decided to switch it up and have our home base be in Pittsburgh.”
O’Connor said the move wasn’t just about putting down roots in a safer community she and Manganiello are proud to call home — it was also about giving back. She noted that the couple is prioritizing support for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, a cause close to Manganiello’s heart.
According to the hospital, the 49-year-old’s relationship with the institution dates back to 2011, when he hosted an event tied to the season finale of HBO’s “True Blood,” donating 100% of the proceeds and making multiple visits to young patients over the years.
In 2015, he served as the honorary chair of the foundation’s 125th anniversary gala, celebrating its status as one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals. He now serves on the hospital’s board of trustees and continues to help raise funds for critical programs.
“When we first met, we went to visit the kids at the hospital,” O’Connor beamed. “It was an amazing experience. And I had gotten involved with their telethon, which helped families who were in need.”
“You’re never turned away at Pittsburgh Children’s if you can’t afford care,” she continued. “Joe also raised $200,000 on his episode of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in 2025. But for us, it’s always been about supporting the kids. It’s been amazing.”
O’Connor said the telethon helped her realize she wanted to build her life around the people of Pittsburgh, not the industry world of Hollywood.
“Pittsburgh is full of kind, generous, hardworking people,” she said. “When I sat on the phone lines, I spoke with so many people who wanted to give anything that they had to help the children here. That was a really heartwarming experience. I cried through the whole thing. Callers didn’t know it. I had tears in my eyes.”
For O’Connor, the pull of Pennsylvania has always felt personal. She was born in Los Angeles but raised in Uniontown. While she went on to study at UCLA and pursue a career in showbiz, home never left her mind.
“I loved growing up here,” she said. “It felt really magical. It was a really beautiful place to grow up. I am a fifth-generation Uniontown native, and it’s been wonderful carrying on the traditions of my family. I always wanted to keep a home here, and I’m proud to be from here.
“My grandparents were heavily involved in raising me, and it felt like living in a postcard. That has always stayed with me. When you grow up, you don’t really have anything to compare it to. You just think everything is normal. But it’s truly a beautiful place to grow up.”
“When Joe and I first connected, our first conversation was about how our high schools used to face each other for football and basketball, even though we’re 12 years apart,” she laughed. “Joe grew up here in Mt. Lebanon and Uniontown is just about an hour away. But Mt. Lebanon is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.”
“I also grew up in my grandmother’s home, and her brother suffered from polio all his life,” she said quietly. “He was very, very sick as a child. He was deeply affected all his life. I learned very early what it meant to find support for a sick child and the need for research.”
O’Connor admitted she’ll miss her friends in Los Angeles but said she’s excited to begin a new chapter — and eager to experience real winters again.
“Our first night here, we woke up to the season’s first snow,” she gushed. “It was beautiful, but Joe had to go out and shovel snow. We didn’t have a snowblower yet. That was actually my Christmas gift to him. But he was out there for two and a half hours. I fell more in love with him, seeing him out there for almost three hours shoveling snow.”
But not everyone is impressed.
“Our dog, Bubbles, does not like the cold,” said O’Connor. “She is adjusting very slowly. She won’t tell us when she has to go outside. She’s just perfectly content staying inside. She’s a California girl.”
While O’Connor and Manganiello still travel to Los Angeles and New York City for work, Pittsburgh is home — and that isn’t changing.
“Pittsburgh is the perfect place to start fresh,” she said. “All of our neighbors are so nice, generous and helpful. In a big city, you don’t have that kind of community that we have here.”
“You don’t have to be in a big city to accomplish your work and follow your dreams,” O’Connor stressed. “And your dreams don’t have to be necessarily chased in a hustle environment or a big city anymore. You have to do what makes you happy. And times have changed.”
