Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Dating Heidi Klum Says Sofía Vergara's Boyfriend Justin Saliman Is a 'Sweetheart': 'Very Happy for Her' The actress has been seeing the orthopedic surgeon since October following her divorce from Joe Manganiello By Julia Moore Julia Moore Julia Moore is a TV writer-reporter at PEOPLE. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 16, 2024 01:45PM EDT Close Heidi Klum (left), Sofia Vergara and Justin Saliman. Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty, Sofia Vergara/Instagram Sofía Vergara's new man has her best friend's stamp of approval. Heidi Klum is "very happy" for the actress, 52, who has been seeing orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman for the last nine months following her divorce from Joe Manganiello. Reflecting on Vergara's birthday celebration last week, which Klum attended along with Saliman, the model told Entertainment Tonight that it was "great to have all [her] friends around." "I just came back in town, and [Sofia] was like, 'Come over, we're having a birthday party.' You don't have to ask me twice, and you know she always has the best cake. Once I say I love the cake, she sends you the cake that you love. She's a very good friend." Sofía Vergara Reveals How Her Tattoo for Ex Joe Manganiello Nods to Her New Boyfriend: 'Recycle' Klum, 51, described Saliman as "such a sweetheart," as she shared that they "couldn't party super late because he had an operation at 7:00 in the morning." "He's a doctor, he's very busy, he's helping people, so it's all good." Sofia Vergara celebrates her birthday with Justin Saliman. Sofia Vergara/Instagram Klum added that she's "very happy" that Vergara found love again after her divorce. "I want everyone to be happy at the end of the day," she said. "You want to walk through life with someone by your side, because what is it if you have all these beautiful things and you travel to the most gorgeous places or whatever it is or even being at home doing dinner together. You want to do that with a person." Sofía Vergara and Heidi Klum Cuddle Up on a Girls Night Out in NYC Klum paid tribute to her fellow America's Got Talent judge with a post on her birthday as she shared three sweet photos from the Griselda star's dinner. "Happy Birthday my beautiful smart and most important funny @sofiavergara ❤️ I love you so much 🌺🌸🌺🌸🌺❤️." In a video posted on her Instagram Stories, Klum also showed a snippet of the celebrations – when two cakes were delivered to a smiling Vergara, whose boyfriend was by her side. Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum arrive for The Albies hosted by the Clooney Foundation at the New York Public Library in New York City. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Vergara was first photographed with Saliman in October as they enjoyed dinner together at Funke restaurant in Beverly Hills. A source told PEOPLE at the time that she was "dating and having fun" following her and Manganiello's divorce, which she was handling "well." They've since been seen together several times, and Vergara told PEOPLE in May that it's been a challenge adjusting to dating again in the public eye. "Everything gets so exaggerated. Everything sometimes gets not interpreted the right way. So life is already hard. Having relationships is hard. Problems are hard. And then to see it out there and be completely changed, you want to be like, 'What is going on?' But you just get used to it. It comes with being famous, so you can’t complain that much." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. As for what she was looking for in a partner, she said she's "not that picky," about their career, but she still knows what she wants. "Health. Money. Fun. With kids. That's it. That's all I want."