Most people know the Hollywood version of the Joy Mangano story. You’ve probably seen Jennifer Lawrence scrubbing floors and fighting off patent trolls in the movie Joy. In that film, the ex-husband is a struggling singer living in the basement. It makes for great cinema, but the real-life dynamic between Joy Mangano and her husband, Anthony Miranne, is actually way more interesting.
It wasn't just a failed marriage. It became one of the most successful business partnerships in home shopping history.
The Pace University Days
Joy didn't start out as a "single mom living in a trailer" like some rags-to-riches tropes suggest. Honestly, she was a business-minded student from the jump. She attended Pace University in the late 70s, which is exactly where she met Anthony Miranne. They were both business students. They fell in love, graduated in 1978, and got married that same year.
Basically, they were a standard college-sweetheart couple starting a life together in New York.
🔗 Read more: Nasty Gal Sophia Amoruso: What Really Happened to the OG Girlboss
Over the next decade, they had three children: Christie, Robert, and Jacqueline. But as many couples find out, being good partners in your early 20s doesn't always translate to a lifelong match. By 1989, the marriage was over. They divorced, and Joy was left as a single mother trying to keep the lights on. She was working as an airline reservations manager and waitressing on the side.
Then came the mop.
Why Anthony Miranne Stayed in the Picture
When Joy developed the Miracle Mop in 1990, she didn't just exile Anthony from her life. This is where the real story deviates from the typical messy divorce narrative. Most people expect bitterness. Instead, Anthony Miranne became one of her biggest professional allies.
✨ Don't miss: NYC Post Tax Calculator: Why Your Take-Home Pay Always Feels Shorter Than It Should Be
While Joy was the creative engine and the face of the brand, she needed people she could trust to run the backend. Anthony eventually became the Executive Vice President of Sales for her company, Ingenious Designs. Think about that for a second. Most people can barely stand to be in the same room as their ex, but these two were building a multi-million dollar empire together.
- Trust over ego: They realized they were better as business partners than as a married couple.
- The Family Business: Their children eventually joined the fray too. Christie and Bobby have both held executive roles within the Joy Mangano brand.
- Atypical Dynamics: Anthony wasn't just "the ex"; he was a cornerstone of the sales strategy that put her products in millions of homes.
The "Joy" Movie vs. Reality
If you’ve seen the 2015 biopic, you saw Edgar Ramírez playing "Tony." In the movie, he’s a suave, aspiring singer who lives in the basement. While the real Anthony Miranne did have a personality that fit the "salesman" mold, he wasn't exactly a basement-dwelling crooner.
The movie condensed a lot of people. It made the family look like a chaotic whirlwind of dysfunction. While there was certainly stress—Joy has been very open about the "lower points" of her life during that era—the professional relationship with Anthony was a calculated, successful choice.
👉 See also: China Currency to Indian Rupee: Why the Exchange Rate is Doing Weird Things Right Now
He didn't just hang around for the kids; he was good at his job. He helped navigate the high-stakes world of QVC and HSN. When HSN eventually bought Ingenious Designs in 1999, it was a massive win for the whole family unit, ex-husband included.
Where They Are Now
As of 2026, Joy Mangano is still a powerhouse. She’s moved on from HSN to launch new ventures like CleanBoss, often collaborating with her children. Anthony has largely stayed out of the public eye compared to Joy’s "Queen of HSN" persona, but his legacy in the company’s growth is documented.
What can we actually learn from this?
First, a divorce doesn't have to be the end of a productive relationship. If you’ve got a shared goal—like raising kids or building a business—it’s possible to pivot the relationship into something that actually works. Second, Joy’s success wasn't just about a mop that was easy to wring out. It was about her ability to surround herself with a "tribe," even if that tribe included her ex-husband.
Actionable Insights for Entrepreneurs and Parents:
- Audit your "Ex" Relationships: If there is untapped professional synergy with a former partner, and the emotional dust has settled, don't let social norms stop a potential collaboration.
- Keep the "Why" Central: For Joy and Anthony, the "why" was the success of the products and the future of their three children. Keeping that focus prevents personal drama from sinking the ship.
- Ignore the Movie Version: Your life doesn't have to fit a cinematic trope. If a "weird" arrangement works for your business, run with it.
Joy Mangano proved that you can reinvent more than just a mop; you can reinvent the structure of a family and a business simultaneously.