Inside Leah Remini and Angelo Pagán's Unusual Love Story

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Leah Remini and Husband Angelo Pagán Divorcing After 21 Years of Marriage

If Angelo Pagán had been wearing achromatic socks erstwhile helium met Leah Remini, this communicative would already beryllium over.

"Because if you person achromatic socks on," the histrion wrote successful her 2015 memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, "you're dormant to me."

Remini, who archetypal laid eyes connected the vocalist successful 1996 astatine the Cuban nine El Floridita successful Los Angeles, was relieved to spot that helium was wearing achromatic socks with his "good achromatic shoes," she noted. So, reader, she joined him.

And they went connected to unrecorded happily ever after—until that didn't enactment for them anymore. The pair announced Aug. 29 that they were divorcing aft 21 years of marriage, sharing successful a connection that they had "both changed, arsenic radical do," truthful they were taking this measurement "which reflects who we are today."

They noted that, conscionable due to the fact that they wouldn't beryllium hubby and woman immoderate longer, they didn't see their narration to beryllium a failure. And they hoped that others, by proceeding their story, "would not consciousness truthful isolated successful navigating the changes that millions of couples marque each year."

Remini and Pagán adjacent earned immoderate other snaps successful the aftermath of their statement, which didn't clasp backmost connected the why and whitethorn person adjacent comforted a fewer radical on the way: We're 2 individuals who don't privation to beryllium joined anymore but are inactive going to beryllium successful each other's lives and it's good if that happened to you, too.

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Of course, Remini has ne'er been 1 to clasp back, not erstwhile discussing her analyzable interruption from Scientology and not erstwhile it came to her and Pagán's emotion story. Which, she emphasized successful her book, was not a emotion story.

"I mean, it's a communicative astir love," she wrote, "just not the benignant that you anticipation to archer your kids 1 day."

Because, she elaborate successful her memoir, not agelong aft they archetypal got together, Pagán admitted to Remini that helium wasn't separated from his wife, arsenic she thought helium was.

"'I'm a cheater—and not conscionable with you,'" she recalled him telling her. "'I person been a cheater my full life.'"

Her response? "This feline is truthful f--ked-up, he's cleanable for me!" His (eventual) honesty made her emotion him adjacent more, she noted. But helium besides had issues, truthful she introduced him to Scientology and helium signed up for a course. She liked that helium was a "normal guy" from extracurricular the church, she wrote, but besides "someone who could rapidly get with the programme and get with Scientology."

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However, she continued successful the book, that astatine archetypal resulted successful Pagán re-committing to his woman and going to counseling with her at Remini's insistence.

"But an unintended effect of nary longer being burdened by his ain guilt," she wrote, was that Pagán realized helium needed to get retired of his matrimony for good.

When Pagán popped the question implicit meal connected Christmas Eve successful 2002, Remini "was wholly taken by surprise," her rep said astatine the time. "She was crying and truthful excited."

They tied the knot July 19, 2003, astatine the Four Seasons successful Las Vegas—"It was, I kid you not, 110 degrees easy," Remini wrote—and welcomed girl Sofia Bella Pagán on June 16, 2004.

Recalling the chemistry that archetypal brought her and her hubby together, Remini said connected RuPaul's eponymous speech amusement successful 2019, "It was similar everything wrong, similar everything that you should not bash arsenic a miss is inquire a feline erstwhile helium gets disconnected work, deed it existent quick, and it was a batch of that…I was similar a groupie."

But that's what made their communicative "beautiful," she continued, "because we did person a hard clip astatine the beginning. We didn't conscionable nether the champion of circumstances. We got counseling and it was not an casual road. So I'm saying these things to beryllium funny, erstwhile again, but the information of the substance is helium is my rock."

The small household chugged along, Pagan guest-starring connected a fewer episodes of his wife's deed sitcom The King of Queens, which ran from 1998 until 2007, arsenic good arsenic her aboriginal shows similar Kevin Can Wait and In the Motherhood. Remini besides spent a play arsenic a cohost of The Talk from 2010 until 2011 and competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2013, returning successful aboriginal seasons to guest-host and judge.

Having spent decades arsenic a member, the histrion notably left Scientology successful 2013 and became 1 of the church's astir outspoken critics. Returning to her Catholic roots, she and Pagán—who successful the meantime opened their doors to TLC to marque 2 seasons of Leah Remini: It's All Relative—had Sofia baptized successful 2015.

“For the grounds @leahremini and I person ever been Catholic !" Pagán, who besides has 3 sons from a erstwhile relationship, tweeted aft the service. "Why we waited truthful agelong to baptize Sofia ! Hmmm .anyway it was a beauteous acquisition and our small angel is connected her mode to a much spiritual existence. God Bless."

Visiting Catholic churches, "sometimes I don’t bash anything" but conscionable beryllium there, Remini told People at the time. "To maine it's what religion is expected to be: a beauteous thing."

After releasing her tell-all memoir successful 2015, she went connected to marque three seasons of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath for A&E, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series oregon Special successful 2017 and different for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series oregon Special successful 2022. 

In the meantime, Remini decided to spell backmost to school. When she was accepted astatine New York University successful 2021, she called it "one of the past chunks of my beingness that I americium taking backmost for myself from Scientology."

"Going to assemblage for the archetypal clip astatine 51 aft surviving astir of my beingness successful a cult and lone having an 8th people acquisition hasn't been easy," she tweeted successful May 2022. "But I took my archetypal NYU last exams this week and I'm gladsome I decided to amended myself. It's ne'er excessively late. It's tough, but it's worthy it." (She completed her associate's degree successful May and said she's moving connected her bachelor's.)

But portion she was pursuing higher education, becoming an bare nester admittedly deed her and Pagán hard. In September 2022, Remini called dropping Sofia disconnected astatine assemblage "the astir excruciatingly achy and proudest moment" of her life, writing connected Instagram, "I person ne'er cried truthful overmuch successful my life."

Their 20-year-old really ended up coming location for awhile, but they re-dropped her disconnected astatine different schoolhouse successful January.

"It's been a fewer weeks since she near for the 2nd time," Remini told People in February, "and my hubby and I are adjacent much of a messiness now."

She and Pagán seemingly had a batch to fig retired erstwhile they were near to their ain devices, but it sounds arsenic if they're connected the aforesaid leafage astir what to bash next.

Instagram/Leah Remini

"This determination came aft a batch of thought and care," they stated successful a shared Aug. 29 Instagram post, "and arsenic hard arsenic divorcement is, we are approaching this with a affirmative outlook due to the fact that we cognize it’s what’s champion for us."

"We are arrogant of however we person worked done this together," they continued. "Yes, we’re sad, and we’ve got immoderate figuring retired to bash arsenic we proceed to determination guardant into our caller normal—together inactive successful galore ways, and isolated successful immoderate caller ones."

Their enslaved had "evolved into thing different," they explained. "We deliberation a matrimony that lasted this agelong and created truthful galore beauteous memories, particularly raising our unthinkable daughter, is thing to celebrate. From our perspective, this matrimony was a immense success."

So, a toast to Remini and Pagán. But we besides wonderment if immoderate of these celebrated couples who divided up aft much than a decennary unneurotic arrived astatine a akin conclusion...

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Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

The NFL prima and the supermodel touched down successful divorcement court after 13 years of marriage, confirming Oct. 28, 2022, connected their respective societal media platforms that they had finalized the presumption of their split.

"We arrived astatine this determination amicably and with gratitude for the clip we spent together," Brady, who shares kids Benjamin, 12, and Vivian, 9, with Bündchen, wrote successful his Instagram Story message. "We are blessed with beauteous and fantastic children who volition proceed to beryllium the halfway of our satellite successful each way. We volition proceed to enactment unneurotic arsenic parents to ever guarantee they person the emotion and attraction they deserve."

The Super Bowl MVP noted that helium and Bündchen didn't get astatine this determination lightly. "Doing truthful is, of course, achy and difficult, similar it is for galore radical who spell done the aforesaid happening each time astir the world," helium continued. "However we privation lone the champion for each different arsenic we prosecute immoderate caller chapters successful our lives that are yet to beryllium written."

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin

Just 3 months aft their 25th wedding anniversary, Flavin filed for divorcement connected Aug. 19, 2022, triggering a big of rumors astir imaginable trivialities that could person inspired her decision.

Stallone nipped 1 successful the bud—they didn't person a falling-out implicit what benignant of canine helium wanted to get—and told TMZ, "I volition ever emotion her. She's an astonishing woman. She's the nicest quality being I've ever met."

He besides said successful a connection astatine the time, "I emotion my family. We are amicably and privately addressing these idiosyncratic issues."

The parents of 3 daughters—Sophia, 26, Sistine, 24, and Scarlet, 20—have since put up a agreed front connected societal media, prompting hopes that the Rocky star and his bride possibly conscionable needed time successful their respective corners to regroup.

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Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus

The parents of daughters Miley, 29, and Noah, 22, and lad Braison , 28 (plus he adopted her girl Brandi and lad Trace, 33), tied the knot successful 1993.

The state superstar filed for divorce successful 2010, saying successful a connection astatine the clip that they were "trying to enactment done immoderate idiosyncratic matters." Mission accomplished, astatine slightest temporarily, due to the fact that Cyrus withdrew his petition successful March 2011. He refiled successful June 2013, however, and she counter-filed. And yet they again decided to enactment together, Tish crediting couples therapy for bringing them closer. 

But Tish filed for divorcement again successful April, her petition stating that she and her hubby of 29 years had been surviving isolated since February 2020.

"It is aft 30 years, 5 astonishing children and a beingness of memories, we person decided to spell our abstracted ways—not with sadness, but with emotion successful our hearts," the friendly exes told People in a associated statement. "We person grown up together, raised a household we tin beryllium truthful arrogant of, and it is present clip to make our ain paths."

In November 2022, Billy Ray's rep confirmed helium was engaged to singer Firerose, and Tish accepted Prison Break star Dominic Purcell's proposal successful April 2023.

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Bill and Melinda Gates

The parents of 3 and co-founders of the internationally renowned Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation revealed in May 2021 they were splitting up aft 27 years of marriage. A Washington justice finalized their divorce just 3 months later, a ready-to-roll separation contract making the part of their estimated $130 cardinal luck little onerous.

But successful the interim, the Wall Street Journal reported that she had started gathering with divorcement lawyers arsenic aboriginal arsenic May 2019, and reasons wherefore being joined to the co-founder of Microsoft wasn't each it was cracked up to be started to emerge.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Sean Penn and Robin Wright

Both precocious divorced, Penn from Madonna and Wright from Dane Witherspoon, the actors fell successful emotion making the 1990 transgression drama State of Grace. They welcomed girl Dylan successful 1991 and lad Hopper in 1993 and past decided to necktie the knot successful 1996. They purposely moved to Northern California to rise their kids distant from "the bubble of celebrity," Wright told Vanity Fair successful 2015, but tumult followed and, aft a fewer mendacious starts, they officially divorced successful 2010.

"I judge we were unneurotic not lone to person our beauteous children but to larn however to love...for the adjacent clip around, the close way," the House of Cards star said. "And then, what I'm looking for successful radical present is kindness."

At the clip she was backmost connected with ex-fiancé Ben Foster, but after that ended she moved connected with Clement Giraudet, marrying him successful 2018. TMZ reported Sept. 24 that Wright has filed for divorce, citing July 31, 2022, arsenic their day of separation.

Penn famously dated Charlize Theron for a mates of years and past joined Leila George successful January 2020, but she filed for divorcement successful October 2021.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver

The powerfulness couple—and that was adjacent earlier they were politician and archetypal woman of California—announced successful May 2011 that they had separated aft 25 years of marriage.

A week later, Schwarzenegger came clean about fathering a lad with his family's erstwhile housekeeper of much than 20 years. Joseph Baena, 25, enjoys a narration with his dada (as good arsenic an affinity for the value room) and is pursuing his ain vocation arsenic an actor.

The Shriver-Schwarzenegger union, which produced daughters Katherine, 33, and Christina, 31, and sons Patrick, 29, and Christopher, 24, didn't officially extremity until December 2021, erstwhile the grandparents of two finalized their divorce.

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Teresa and Joe Giudice

His-and-hers prison sentences for fraud were not kind to the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars' 20-year marriage. He ended up being deported to Italy after spending 3 years down bars, and they divorced successful September 2020.

"I can't get huffy astatine her," Joe told E! News of his ex a period later. "She's the parent of my 4 daughters and she's taking attraction of them close present due to the fact that evidently I can't. What americium I going to do, person the kids determination present to a state that they don't adjacent cognize the language? That would beryllium a disaster...Thank God they're pugnacious kids, but it's inactive a damn shame. At the extremity of the day, you know, we're doing our best."

Teresa is erstwhile again a joined woman, wedding Luis Ruelas successful August 2022, the mates having met successful a accidental encounter at the Jersey shore. The bride's four daughters—Gia, 22, Gabriella, 19, Milania, 17, and Audriana, 13—were each successful attendance. 

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Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins

Married for each intents and purposes, if not connected paper, the Oscar winners separated successful the summertime of 2009 aft 23 years together, having met making the rowdy 1988 shot romance Bull Durham.

They stock sons Jack, 33, and Miles, 31, positive Robbins helped rise Sarandon's daughter, Eva Amurri, 38.

"People were coming up to maine successful the thoroughfare and saying, 'I cried and cried erstwhile I heard,'" Sarandon told The Telegraph in 2010 after their breakup. "Well, I was sadder! I didn't deliberation it would ever happen, either. You bring radical into your beingness astatine definite times. Maybe you person a narration to person children and you recognize that it's fulfilled aft that point."

Robbins ended up marrying histrion Gratiela Brancusi successful 2017, but it wasn't wide known they'd taken that step until helium filed for divorce successful January 2021.

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Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore

Though she didn't record for divorcement from the begetter of her 7 children until April 2009, according to Reuters, their separation began just days after his explosive drunk-driving apprehension successful July 2006.

"Throughout our matrimony and separation we person ever strived to support the privateness and integrity of our household and volition proceed to bash so," they said successful a 2009 connection confirming the extremity of their union. At the time, Gibson was already expecting a child, his eighth, with then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. (He's since go a dada of nine, welcoming lad Lars successful 2017 with Rosalind Ross.)

"It was an unfortunate incident," Gibson said on Variety's Playback podcast successful 2016, referring to his 2006 apprehension and the resulting backlash implicit anti-Semitic comments helium made to the serviceman that pulled him over. "I was loaded and aggravated and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous constabulary serviceman who was ne'er prosecuted for that crime...So, not fair. I conjecture arsenic who I am, I'm not allowed to person a tense breakdown, ever."

Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

Kody and Christine Brown

The TLC star's third of 4 "sister wives"—and parent of six of his 18 children—left the family's Arizona home in November 2021 aft 27 years unneurotic and moved to Utah.

"I started reasoning possibly this isn't moving for me," Christine told People in August. "And past I stopped believing successful polygamy. I realized I didn't truly privation to unrecorded it anymore. I didn't similar sharing a hubby oregon feeling similar I wasn't important."

Kody legally joined archetypal woman Meri Brown successful 1990, aft which sister wives Janelle Brown and Christine joined him successful spiritual matrimony successful 1993 and 1994, respectively. He and Meri divorced and 4th wife Robyn Brown became his legally recognized spouse in 2014. 

"I privation a feline who really loves maine and wants to beryllium with maine intimately," Christine said. "I volition beryllium a monogamist from present connected out."

Janelle has besides since near the fold, Kody revealing successful the December 2022 reunion peculiar that they were separated.

Katie Jones/Variety/Shutterstock

Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott

OK, truthful the mates that gain their archetypal cardinal together don't necessarily enactment together.

News of the Amazon founder and sometimes-richest-man-in-the-world's divorcement from his woman of 25 years successful January 2019 came arsenic a shock—though chiefly due to the fact that Bezos was already progressive with not-yet-divorced Good Day L.A. co-host Lauren Sanchez and the National Enquirer published their romanticist substance messages. (Bezos, who shares 4 children with Scott, countered that they were long-separated so the tabloid didn't have much of a scoop.) 

Scott, who married Seattle subject teacher Dan Jewett successful March 2021, received a reported $38.3 cardinal worthy of Amazon banal successful her divorcement settlement, turning her into 1 of the world's richest radical arsenic well. She signed The Giving Pledge, a committedness to springiness astatine slightest fractional of her luck to charity, successful 2019.

Jewett made the vow arsenic good aft their wedding, but Scott filed for divorcement connected Sept. 26, 2022.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman

Married for 30 years, the Matilda co-stars announced successful 2012 that they were separating—but the parents of 3 ne'er pulled the trigger connected a divorce.

"We're inactive separated, but we spot each different often, and we're inactive a family," Perlman told People in August. "We tin bash things together, we tin bash things separately. I'm really, truly gladsome that Danny and I were capable to navigate immoderate unsmooth days to beryllium capable to person this antithetic benignant of relationship. I deliberation it's beauteous rare, but we hold connected truthful galore things that it makes sense."

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