Leah Remini and her husband Angelo Pagan are divorcing after 21 years of marriage.
The couple announced their split in a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday and revealed “why” their relationship ended.
The 53-year-old former Scientologist admitted that she and her husband have “both changed” and that their “roles no longer fit.”
The statement explained: ‘So, the big question is: why? Simply put, we both changed, as people do, and we got used to playing roles that no longer suited us.
“After much effort and consideration, we have decided to take this step, which reflects who we are today. Our bond is still strong, it has just evolved into something different.”
Leah Remini and her husband Angelo Pagan are divorcing after 21 years of marriage
The former Scientologist, 53, admitted she and her husband have “both changed” and said their “roles no longer fit”
Although they are both “sad” about the end of their marriage, the two stressed that they are still “best friends.”
Leah and Angelo consider their marriage a “success” and look forward to making “beautiful memories” as exes.
‘We think a marriage that has lasted this long and created so many wonderful memories, especially raising our wonderful daughter, is something to celebrate.
“From our perspective, this marriage was a huge success. And now we look forward to creating more cherished moments, just in a different way,” they wrote.
The couple wanted to be ‘transparent’, as they previously let their fans enjoy their family life in their reality series on TLC.
Their announcement also included photos of Leah and Angelo side by side: one from when they first met and another from a more recent selfie.
The news comes just over a week after her best friend Jennifer Lopez, with whom she recently reconnected, pulled the plug on her marriage to Ben Affleck.
The couple met in 1996 when Angelo, an actor/singer, was performing at the Cuban nightclub El Floridita in Los Angeles.
This was before Leah found mainstream success as Kevin James’ wife Carrie in the hit sitcom King Of Queens, which ran from 1998 to 2007.
Leah previously told Redbook that it was “love at first sight” for her.
Although they have a “beautiful love story,” Leah admitted in 2019 that the couple had a “hard time in the beginning” of their relationship.
The couple announced their shocking split in a joint Instagram statement on Thursday, revealing ‘why’ their relationship ended
The statement explained: ‘So, the big question is: why? Simply put, we both changed, as people do, and we got used to playing roles that no longer suited us.’
Their announcement included side-by-side photos of Leah and Angelo – one from when they first met and the other from more recently.
“We didn’t meet under the best of circumstances. We went through therapy and it wasn’t an easy road,” she told RuPaul on his now-cancelled talk show.
Despite their rocky star, Leah called Angelo her “rock.”
He proposed to Leah on Christmas Eve 2002 and they married seven months later, in July 2003, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
When they married, Leah became stepmother to Angelo’s three sons — Angelo Jr., Alex and Nico — from a previous relationship.
Angelo, in turn, joined the Church of Scientology, a controversial religion that Leah and her family joined in 1979, when she was just a child.
In June 2004, the couple welcomed their first child, now 20-year-old daughter Sofia Belle.
The family got their own reality show — Leah Remini: It’s All Relative — in 2014, which aired for two seasons on TLC.
The show drew cameras to the Brooklyn native’s lavish LA home and introduced the world to her mother Vicki, stepfather George and sister Shannon.
We followed Leah closely as she ‘juggled her busy career and crazy family’ and dealt with life’s challenges.
Remini began taping the show after she left Scientology in shock after 35 years in the church. Angelo and Leah’s mother Vicki also came along.
Leah became a fierce critic of the organization after she left and published her 2015 bestseller Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.
She also appeared in three seasons of the A&E documentary series Scientology and the Aftermath.
The couple met in 1996 when Angelo, an actor/singer, performed at the Cuban nightclub El Floridita in Los Angeles; the couple was spotted in 2001
The couple welcomed their first child, now 20-year-old daughter Sofia Belle, in June 2004; Leah pictured with Angelo during her pregnancy
She is currently suing Scientology leader David Miscavige for alleged “harassment, surveillance and defamation,” according to her 2023 lawsuit.
When she decided to leave the church, Leah feared she would lose her family forever.
‘[I thought,] “I’m willing to walk away from everyone I’ve ever known and cut ties with my own husband and mother,” she told ABC News’ 20/20 in 2015.
But Angelo and her mother Vicki supported her completely, which meant ‘everything’ to Leah.
The news of the divorce comes at a time when Leah’s life is changing dramatically.
In February, she announced on Instagram that she is struggling with perimenopause, the transition period before menopause.
She said her “body seemed to change overnight” and she felt “very alone in that experience.”
Leah also admitted that she has suffered from depression and anxiety almost daily since leaving the Church of Scientology 11 years ago.
She explained that she is often “consumed with fear” when she leaves the house, as she accuses the religious group of constantly putting her, her loved ones and colleagues “at risk.”
Despite her health issues, Leah successfully completed her studies at the age of 53. In March, she announced that she had received her associate degree from New York University.
Showing off her diploma on Instagram, Leah wrote: ‘Three years ago I began a terrifying journey: becoming a college student at the age of 50, after only graduating from high school and spending 35 years in a totalitarian cult.
‘After three years of hard work, long nights, tears, and wanting to give up so many times, I earned an associate degree from NYU.’
She told her fans that she wanted to continue her education and that she planned to get a bachelor’s degree.
Leah has also rekindled her friendship with best friend Jennifer Lopez, two years after rumors surfaced that they had split.
According to a source to Page Six in May, the friends had reconnected after Jennifer got into a fight with Ben Affleck, from whom she officially filed for divorce last week.
Leah and Jennifer reportedly got into a fight over her upcoming wedding to Affleck in 2022.
Leah has also rekindled her friendship with best friend Jennifer Lopez – two years after their rumoured split; seen in 2018
A source told Page Six in May that the friends had “reconnected” amid Jennifer’s marital woes with Ben Affleck, from whom she officially filed for divorce last week; Ben and Jen seen in February
Leah had expressed her concerns to Jennifer, while also reminding her of the reason for their first breakup years earlier: “Because he’s selfish and not fully committed as a partner.”
However, after the fight, the On The Floor singer was ‘so angry’ that she decided to ‘sever all ties’ with Leah.
In August 2022, Jennifer and Ben had an extravagant wedding ceremony in Georgia, after tying the knot a month earlier in Las Vegas.
Leah was noticeably absent from the wedding. According to sources, TMZ reported that she did not attend because she was spending time with her daughter Sofia, who was about to leave for college.
Leah has reportedly reached out to the singer in recent months and a source told Page Six that they are now speaking.
The couple first met in 2004 at a red carpet premiere, when Jennifer was dating her third ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she has 16-year-old twins.
During a joint appearance on The View in 2018, Leah described her and Jennifer’s relationship as “really close” and said they are “like sisters.”
Jennifer added that she and Leah have a “bond” because of their many similarities, both professionally and personally.
“We understand each other’s lives. We have similar lives and similar careers, and we understand nuances that other people don’t understand, so that’s also connected us,” she told the show’s hosts.