Leah Remini and her husband Angelo Pagan are divorcing after 21 years of marriage.
The couple announced their shock split via a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday that revealed “why” their relationship broke down.
The former Scientologist married Pagan in 2003 and they share a 20-year-old daughter, Sofia Bella.
The news comes just over a week after her best friend Jennifer Lopez, with whom she recently reconnected, called off her own marriage to Ben Affleck.
“Well, here we are. After 28 years together and 21 years of marriage, we have decided to file for divorce,” Leah and Angelo began Thursday’s statement.
‘This decision came after much thought and care, and as difficult as divorce is, we approached it with a positive outlook because we know it’s what’s best for us.
“We are proud of how we have worked together to get through this,” they continued.
Leah Remini and husband Angelo Pagan are divorcing after 21 years of marriage; seen in 2018
The former Scientologist married Pagan in 2003 and they have a 20-year-old daughter, Sofia Bella.
Although they are both “sad” about the end of their marriage, the duo insisted they remain “best friends.”
‘Yes, we’re sad and we have to figure some things out as we move toward our new normal, still together in many ways and apart in some new ones.
“But the truth is that we have been best friends for many years. We still celebrate the holidays together, watch our favorite TV shows together, and gather as a family,” they wrote.
Leah and Angelo went on to reveal “why” they decided to divorce after nearly three decades together.
‘So the big question is: why? Simply put, we both changed, as people do, and got used to playing roles that no longer suited us.
“After much effort and reflection, we have decided to take this step, which reflects who we are today. Our bond is still strong, it has simply evolved into something different,” they explained.
Leah and Angelo consider their marriage a “success” and look forward to creating “beautiful memories” as exes.
We believe that a marriage that lasted so long and created so many beautiful memories, especially raising our amazing daughter, is something to celebrate.
“From our point of view, this wedding was a great success. And now, we look forward to creating even more unforgettable moments, but in a different way,” they wrote.
The couple wanted to be “transparent” as they previously let fans in on their family life on their TLC reality series Leah Remini: It’s All Relative, which aired for two seasons in 2014.
“We want to be as transparent as we can here because for years we shared our marriage publicly, whether it was on our VH1 specials or on our reality show, which ran for two seasons on TLC,” they said.
‘We are sharing this uncharted territory with all of you as we take our first steps into this next stage of our lives publicly.
The couple announced their shock split via a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday that revealed “why” their relationship broke down; seen in 2015
‘We’d love for everyone to have more access to different types of relationship stories and not feel so isolated when 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, are not failures.
“We will continue to share snippets of our lives as we move forward into this new chapter. Love, Leah and Angelo,” the couple concluded.
Included with the announcement were side-by-side photos of Leah and Angelo, one from when they first met and the other more recently.