Leah Remini Announces Divorce From Husband Angelo Pagan After 21 Years of Marriage: ‘We Both Changed’
Leah Remini announced she’s splitting from husband Angelo Pagán.
The King of Queens actress, 54, took to Instagram to say the couple mutually “decided to file for divorce” after 21 years of marriage.
“This decision came after a lot of thought and care,” the Brooklyn native confirmed solemnly. “We are approaching this with a positive outlook because we know it’s what’s best for us.”
She filed the divorce documents on the night of Thursday, August 29, and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split, according to documents viewed by TMZ. In addition to filing the paperwork without a lawyer, Leah listed their date of separation as August 1 and asked that neither of them be awarded spousal support.
Leah tied the knot with Angelo, 56, in July 2003 after they first started dating in 1996. The couple share one daughter, Sofia, 20. On ?Thursday, August 30, the actress told fans they had decided to bring their 28-year relationship to an end.
The consummate performer gave her reasoning: “We both changed, as people do, and we got used to playing roles that didn’t fit us anymore.”
“We are proud of how we have worked through this together.”
The divorce comes on the heels of a rocky few years for the embattled star, who has been speaking out publicly against the Church of Scientology, of which Leah is a former member.
Since leaving the church in 2013, Leah has told fans on X her life has become a “constant struggle” and that she is regularly “consumed by fear,” anxiety and depression.
In court documents obtained by In Touch in August 2023, Leah alleged that she has been “stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened [and] intimidated” for the last 10 years and that she has been the targeted victim of “intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors” via social media accounts associated with the church.
The actress further alleged that the leaders of Scientology created a “campaign to ruin and destroy [her] life and livelihood,” while also targeting her loved one.
Leah laid bare the drama surrounding her exodus from the church in a memoir published in 2015, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, and her docuseries, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which ran for three season starting in 2016, and heavily featured Angelo’s perspective on the ordeal.
“We want to be as transparent as we can be here because, for years, we shared our marriage so publicly,” the actress stated in her divorce announcement.
However, in a change of pace from the turmoil over the last 11 years, the star says her marriage “was a huge success” despite the impending break up.
“And now, we’re looking forward to creating even more cherished moments—just in a different way,” she said.
“Yes, we’re sad, and we’ve got some figuring out to do as we continue to move forward into our new normal – together still in many ways, and apart in some new ones.”
“Our bond is still strong – it’s just evolved into something different.”
“We think a marriage that lasted this long and created so many beautiful memories, especially raising our incredible daughter, is something to celebrate,” Leah continued.
Like much of her life post-Scientology, the Leah Remini: It’s All Relative star will be airing her divorce for all to see and learn from, the actress hopes.
“We are sharing this unknown territory with you all as we take our first steps into this next stage of our lives publicly.”
“We would love for everyone to have more access to different kinds of relationship stories and not feel so isolated in navigating the changes that millions of couples make every year.”
“We hope our journey can inspire others to see that relationships – whether they change or end – aren’t failures,” Leah added.
“We’ll keep sharing snippets of our lives as we navigate this new chapter.”
