Leah Remini and Angelo Pagán have decided to call it quits after 21 years of marriage.
via: Daily Mail
Even after openly speaking about going to marriage counseling together and how leaving the Church of Scientology affected their relationship over the years, news that the actress, 54, and singer, 56, are divorcing left their fans shocked.
Despite publicly speaking about overcoming hardships together in the past, the pair revealed on Thursday that they decided to end their 21-year marriage in a joint statement on their respective social media accounts.
The couple, who share a 20-year-old daughter named Sofia Bella Pagan, explained that they made the choice to call it quits 'after a lot of thought and care.'
'As hard as divorce is, we are approaching this with a positive outlook because we know it's what's best for us,' they explained. 'We are proud of how we have worked through this together. 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.'
They went on to assure their followers that they are 'still celebrating holidays together, watching our favorite tv shows together, and gathering as a family.'
In the wake of their split, DailyMail.com has taken a look back on all the signs that the actors were drifting apart, including not posting on their most recent anniversary.
In a 2015 interview with ABC News' 20/20, the actress revealed that she was prepared to leave her marriage after making the decision to leave Scientology in 2013.
While recalling the decision, she said she was 'ready to walk away from everybody that' she had 'ever known and cut ties with' her 'own husband' and mother.
Ultimately, both Pagan and her mother left Scientology with her that same year.
Remini, later, said their decision to stick by her side meant 'everything' to her.
In her 2015 memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, the mother-of-one said he had a problem with infidelity before they got together.
'In 1996 the universe provided me with Angelo Pagán. A man with a history of cheating, and three kids. Perfect. Now, I'll preface this by saying this is not a love story. I mean, it's a story about love — just not the kind that you hope to tell your kids one day,' she wrote in her book.
Remini, who claims she fell in love with Pagán at first sight, said their relationship felt like 'instant magic' and recalled feeling 'head over heels' for him.
She, then, recalls learning he was married.
According to TODAY, 'at the urging of the Church of Scientology, of which she was then a member, Remini asked Pagán to reconcile with his wife and get counseling.'
After getting counseling, Pagán 'told his wife he was leaving' and began dating Remini.
After a rocky start to their relationship, Remini revealed they 'got counseling.'
'It's a beautiful love story because we did have a hard time at the beginning. We didn't meet under the best of circumstances,' she revealed during an episode of RuPaul's eponymous talk show in 2019.
She continued: 'We got counseling and it was not an easy road. So, I'm saying these things to be funny, once again, but the truth of the matter is he is my rock.'
Their short-lived reality show, Leah Remini: It's All Relative, which ran for two seasons from 2014 to 2015, captured the ups and downs of their relationship.
This includes moments they didn't always see eye to eye, from their sex life to her disapproving of his clothing.
In one episode, which she reposted a clip from to her Instagram in 2022, she calls him out for wearing a pair of pants that she claims she can see 'the whole outline' of his penis in.
The comment, made in front of a group of people, seemed to make him uncomfortable as he ended up zipping up his jacket to cover the front of his pants.
'I have an issue seeing men's parts in their clothes!' she explained during a confessional. 'I don't care if you have a big d**k or a little d**k, I don't want to see it in your sweatpants.'
In another episode, she calls him out for asking her for a blow job.
'First of all I don't give blow jobs anymore, I'm a mother,' she tells him. 'You know this.'
'I do know that,' he quips back.
She then cheekily tells him to get himself 'a girlfriend.'
'Could you imagine me on my knees doing that kind of thing?' she presses.
After he says he could imagine that, she jokes back: 'Okay, so you expected to come in here with the cameras... to have sex and we're going to make a porno real quick for TLC?'
She proceeds to tell him that he's 'really f**ked up' and reminded him that their daughter watches the show.
He argues that this conversation will 'never' make the cut.
'Don't bet on it,' she teased.
In February, Remini revealed she was struggling with 'depression and isolation.'
In a new post, uploaded to on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram, the star gave a candid account of her mental and physical health challenges.
She shared that she is going through perimenopause, which is the transitional period before menopause.
'On top of my struggles with depression, my body has seemed to change overnight, something women my age (53) go through naturally, but I know it still comes as a shock to so many of us,' the star added.
Symptoms include trouble sleeping, night sweats, headaches, trouble concentrating, mood changes hot flashes and more, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Neither Remini or her husband posted on their 21nd wedding anniversary on July 19.
In 2022, on their anniversary, she reflected on the 'years behind' them and sending off their daughter to college.
'As hard as it is to be at the stage of our lives where we’re preparing to send her off, we are also unbelievably proud parents who want nothing less for her. We’ve raised a wonderful young woman, and I couldn’t be prouder of her and us. We’ve done well, and our daughter is the most special proof of that,' she wrote.
Two years after becoming empty nesters, the former couple announced 'after '28 years together and 21 years of marriage' they 'decided to file for divorce.'
They explained; 'To put it simply, we both changed, as people do, and we got used to playing roles that didn’t fit us anymore. After a lot of effort and consideration, we’ve decided to take this step, which reflects who we are today. 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,' the pair wrote. 'From our perspective, this marriage was a huge success. And now, we’re looking forward to creating even more cherished moments—just in a different way. We want to be as transparent as we can be here because, for years, we shared our marriage so publicly, whether it was on our specials on VH1 or our reality show, which ran for two seasons on TLC.'
They acknowledged this is 'unknown territory' for them and promised to continue to share 'snippets' of their lives together as they navigate this 'new chapter.'
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