Leah Remini reunited with her ex-husband Angelo Pagán to celebrate “the family we chose to remain.”
“In a world where so much feels curated and performative, I have come to appreciate the rare beauty of families that change shape, but never lose the love that is real,” Remini, 55, wrote in an Instagram birthday tribute to Pagán, 58, on Tuesday, May 26. “Some may not understand it. But I am incredibly proud of the family we built — and even more proud of the family we chose to remain. Happy birthday [Angelo].”
Pagán playfully responded to his ex by quoting Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III, writing, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in ! You best believe I’m Michael Coleone in this movie!”
The former couple were married for 21 years before divorcing in 2024. (Remini and Pagán share a daughter, Sofia Bella Pagán, 21, and he has three older sons — Angelo Jr., Alex and Nico — from a previous relationship. The family left the Church of Scientology together in 2013.)
In August 2024, Remini announced her separation from Pagán in a statement, explaining that they “no longer fit” as husband and wife.
“Well, here we are. After 28 years together and 21 years of marriage, we have decided to file for divorce,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “This decision came after a lot of thought and care, and as hard as divorce is, we are approaching this with a positive outlook because we know it’s what’s best for us.”
Remini acknowledged that the end of her marriage was “sad,” adding that she and Pagán had some “figuring out to do as we continue to move forward into our new normal.”
“But here’s the thing: we’ve been best friends for so many years,” she insisted. “We are still celebrating holidays together, watching our favorite tv shows together, and gathering as a family.”
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Us Weekly reported in October 2024 that Remini and Pagán had finalized their divorce. (The terms of their divorce were kept private since they reached a settlement through mediation outside the court.)
Remini exclusively opened up to Us in June 2025 about how she and Pagán came to the decision to separate.
“You become friends, but there’s more to marriage than that. I saw that Angelo wanted something different,” she told Us. “When you’re giving what you give in a relationship, but it’s not what the person wants, it’s like, ‘So you don’t appreciate what I’m doing? Well, I don’t appreciate what you’re doing because that’s not what I want.’ When I met him, I was in Scientology as a different person. Living in the same household, you’re acting out your roles, and if we’re not changing those roles as our needs change, you’re just growing apart. We just decided we should file for divorce and do a clean slate so nobody feels obligated to do this or that.”
Remini took a pause when she was asked whether her departure from the Church of Scientology in 2013 contributed to the breakdown of her marriage.
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“I don’t know,” she confessed to Us. “I just think I was fighting for a life that I never fully had autonomy over. Tomorrow’s not promised. I don’t know how much time I have left. I didn’t want to waste [time]. It’s hard to be the breadwinner, a wife and a mother, the one who does all the holidays, and then wants to rub your husband’s feet. That’s not something that I’m going to do. And it’s something he deserves.”
That same month, Remini confirmed to Us that she’d bonded with longtime pal Jennifer Lopez over both of their recent divorces. (Lopez, 56, and her most recent ex-husband, Ben Affleck, finalized their divorce in January 2025.)
“Right after the divorce, we’d text each other loving messages of support,” the King of Queens actress recalled.
