Joe Manganiello’s Fiancee Caitlin O’Connor Says Couple Quit L.A. Over Fears About Rising Crime—and a Slump in Entertainment Industry

Actor Joe Manganiello's fiancee, Caitlin O'Connor, has revealed that the couple made the decision to leave Los Angeles for good because of their fears over the "all-time high" crime in the city, coupled with the dwindling of the Hollywood entertainment industry.

O'Connor, 36, and Manganiello, 49, confirmed in December that they had ditched L.A. after 20 years and returned to their hometown of Pittsburgh, telling People at the time that they had found a new home in Mount Lebanon, a suburb of the city.

Now, O'Connor, who began dating the "True Blood" star in 2023, shortly before his divorce from Sofia Vergara was finalized, has opened up about the real reasons for their relocation, telling Fox News Digital that the couple no longer felt safe in the City of Angels.

She noted that the couple spent a good amount of time debating whether or not to remain in L.A. but ultimately decided the time was right for them to move when they happened across the perfect Pittsburgh home.

“The crime in Los Angeles is at an all-time high. 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," she said.

Despite O'Connor's claims about Los Angeles' crime rates, just last month, The Los Angeles Times reported that 2025 was the city's safest year since 1959 per capita, adding that it experienced its lowest homicide total in over half a century.

The LAPD also reported that property crimes were down about 6.7% from 2024, while homicide rates fell 19%.

Still, the "Electric Love" alum noted that there were other reasons behind her and Manganiello's move—namely the slump in the entertainment industry in the city.

“Also, L.A. is no longer the entertainment capital of the world. Actors do not audition there anymore. Many casting directors don’t have offices there anymore," she said.

She noted that many auditions now take place over Zoom and "a lot of premieres happen in New York," noting that the entertainment hot spots are changing as studios expand their reach.

“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 L.A. on set their whole lives. The industry has moved. It’s no longer there," she said.

O'Connor explained that the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the industry, giving actors more freedom when it came to their living situations.

“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," she said.

O'Connor is not the first person to raise the alarm bell about Hollywood's decline as an entertainment power player.

In July, Vulture published a report about the decline of the industry in L.A., quoting industry insiders who said that the city felt more and more "like a Rust Belt crater."

"It's so grim, like a sad company town where the mill is closing," one anonymous executive told the publication.

Today, only about 1 in 5 American films and shows is being filmed in Los Angeles. And the reasons are many—lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, worker strikes, the decline of movie theaters, and healthy tax incentives offered by other states.

Many big box-office stars are also no longer tethered to the area, either. Celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg, Chris Evans, Matthew McConaughey, Glenn Powell, and Rachel McAdams have all quit California.

President Donald Trump has announced plans to try to restore Hollywood's luster, telling the California Post in January that he was going to implement tariffs on any movies made outside of the U.S., including those filmed in Canada.

"I’m going to be putting tariffs on movies from outside of the country—if they’re made in Canada, if they’re made in all these places, because Los Angeles has lost the movie industry," he said.

"And so I’m going to put tariffs on and we’re going to be doing bonds, some bonds, some low-interest bonds, for the movie industry. We’ll bring it back."

However, O'Connor noted that she and Manganiello are perfectly happy with their new life in Pittsburgh, telling People in December that the couple had settled into the area easily—aided by the fact that they had both grown up around the city.

"I mean, L.A. has been both of our homes for over 20 years. I was born in L.A., but raised in Pittsburgh, so we’re both from the same hometown," she said.

She noted that they feel much safer in their new home, adding, “I’ve never been in a more beautiful neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It’s just idyllic.”

O'Connor assured fans that she and Manganiello still plan to travel.

“Joe and I have been sort of on a world tour since we met. We’ve traveled a lot … to over 70 cities in the last two years. So we have ornaments from all over the world. We try to collect a piece of art from all over the world and bring it back," she said.