Leah Remini reunited with ex-husband Angelo Pagan to celebrate “the family we chose to remain.”
“In a world where so many things feel so selective and performative, I’ve come to understand the rare beauty of a family that changes forms but never loses true love,” Remini, 55, told Pagan, 58, on Tuesday, May 26. “Some people may not understand, but I’m incredibly proud of the family we’ve built. And even more proud of the family we chose to stay with. Happy Birthday (Angelo),” he wrote on Instagram to celebrate his birthday.
Pagan playfully responded to her ex by quoting Al Pacino from The Godfather Part 3, writing, “Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! You better believe I’m Michael Colone in this movie!”
The former couple was married for 21 years and divorced in 2024. (Remini and Pagan have a 21-year-old daughter, Sofia Bella Pagan, and he has three eldest 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 Pagan in a statement, explaining that they were “no longer compatible” as a couple.
“Well, here we are. After 28 years together and 21 years married, we have decided to file for divorce,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “This decision was made after much thought and consideration, and while divorce is difficult, we approach it with a positive outlook because we know it is what is best for us.”
Remini admitted that the end of their marriage was “sad”, adding that she and Pagan were “thinking about what to do as we continue to move toward a new normal.”
“But the thing is, we’ve been best friends for years,” she insisted. “We still celebrate holidays together, watch our favorite TV shows together, and gather together as a family.”
Us Weekly reported in October 2024 that Remini and Pagan had finalized their divorce. (The terms of the divorce were not made public as a settlement was reached through out-of-court mediation.)
Remini exclusively opened up in June 2025 about how she and Pagan came to the decision to separate.
“We can be friends, but there’s more to marriage than that. I could see that Angelo wanted something different,” she told the publication. “When you’re giving what you’re giving in a relationship and it’s not what the other person wants, it’s like, ‘So you don’t value what I’m doing? Well, I don’t value what you’re doing because that’s not what I want.'” When I met him, I said, I was in Scientology as a different person. When you live in the same household, you play your role, and if you don’t change that role as your needs change, you just drift apart. We just decided that we should file for divorce and have a clean slate so no one feels obligated to do this or that.”
When asked if leaving the Church of Scientology in 2013 led to the breakdown of her marriage, Remini paused.
“I don’t know,” she confessed to us. “I think I was just fighting for a life where I didn’t have complete autonomy. Tomorrow wasn’t promised. I didn’t know how much time I had left. I didn’t want to waste (time). It’s hard being a breadwinner, a wife, a mother, doing all the holidays and then wanting to rub your husband’s feet. That’s not what I’m trying to do. And he deserves it.”
That same month, Remini admitted to Us that she had bonded with longtime friend Jennifer Lopez over her recent divorce. (Lopez, 56, and her most recent ex-husband, Ben Affleck, finalized their divorce in January 2025.)
“Right after the divorce, we were texting each other loving messages of support,” the King of Queens actress recalled.
