Leah Remini and Angelo Pagán dropped out.
The actress, who first met Pagán in 1996 when he performed at El Floridita, a Cuban club and restaurant in Los Angeles, announced on social media that she was separating from the businessman after 21 years of marriage.
“Well, here we are. After 28 years together and 21 years of marriage, we’ve decided to file for divorce,” they wrote in a joint Instagram post on Aug. 29. “This decision came after a lot of thought and care, and as difficult as the divorce is, we approach it with a positive outlook because we know it’s the best for us.”
The former couple married in 2003 and had one daughter, Sofia Bella, on June 16, 2004. Pagán also has three sons from a previous relationship.
In 2010, Remini recalled that The Red Book magazine that it was “love at first sight” after meeting the singer. During their relationship, Remini and Pagán worked together on various occasions, including her hit sitcom The King of Queensin which Pagán was a guest several times.
So who is Lee Remini’s husband? Continue reading to learn more about Angelo Pagano.
He was born in New York
Angelo Pagano’s Instagram
Remini and Pagán were both born in New York. Pagán was born and raised in the Bronx with his five siblings, and is a fan of hometown sports teams, including the New York Knicks.
Pagán’s family is originally from Puerto Rico, and he often posts about his homeland on Instagram and supports other Puerto Rican entertainers.
He met Remini in a Cuban club
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
During an interview in the talk show of the same name in 2019 RuPaulRemini recalled meeting her Pagan in 1996 when he sang at El Floridita, a Cuban club and restaurant in LA.
“I saw him across the room and I said, ‘Damn! What time are you leaving?’ Remini joked. “It was like everything was wrong, like all you shouldn’t do as a girl is ask your boyfriend when he’s done with work, hit him fast, and there was a lot of it… I was like a groupie. It was just really bad , everything looks bad.”
All kidding aside, Remini said their relationship had its struggles, but they overcame them.
“It’s a beautiful love story because it was difficult for us in the beginning,” she continued. “We didn’t meet in the best of circumstances. We got counseling and it wasn’t an easy road. So I say these things to be funny, once again, but the truth is, he’s my rock.”
He is an actor, singer and restaurateur
Anthony Harvey – PA Images/PA Images
Pagán began acting in the 80s and 90s, earning several minor roles in various TV series and TV movies. After meeting Remini, he began appearing alongside her in several of her projects, including King of Queens, Set on fire, Kevin can wait and In Motherhood. He has also made guest appearances on other popular shows including Martial law, Dharma & Greg and Shameless.
In a joint interview with Remini on Early show In 2011, Pagán joked that people thought he had been cast King of Queens because he “slept with the lead” but said he had to audition. He also admitted that appearing in the sitcom was a challenge for him.
“Ask my wife — I’m not funny,” he said, to which Remini replied, “He’s not the funny one. No. He looks like the two of them.”
According to his Instagram bio, Pagán is also a singer, producer and entrepreneur. He was working as a singer when he met Remini in the 90s and continues to perform today; he often co-hosts shows and performs at venues throughout LA
Pagán also runs the restaurant with Remina’s mother and stepfather, Vicki and George Marshall. The family has co-owned Vivian’s Millennium Cafe in Studio City, California since 1999. Pagán also brought East Coast flavor to LA with Angelo’s Pizza, located inside Vivian’s. Famous friends like Don Cheadle, George Lopez and Cedric the Entertainer stopped by the place for a snack.
He and Remini were married in 2003
Pagán proposed to Remini at a restaurant in LA on Christmas Eve 2002, and they married at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas on July 19, 2003.
“It was out at night and still 110 degrees,” Remini said The King of Queens Costar Kevin James told PEOPLE after the wedding, adding with a laugh, “The best part was toweling off.”
The sitcom’s producer, Rob Schiller, told PEOPLE that during their vows, Pagán “credited Leah with becoming a better father,” while Remini “credited Angelo with giving her some soul,” a reference to the salsa lessons they took together.
He’s a dad
Angelo Pagano’s Instagram
Remini and Pagán welcomed their daughter Sofia Bella on June 16, 2004. Pagán also has three sons from a previous relationship – Angel Jr., Alex and Nico – as well as two grandchildren, Mila and Markus.
In June 2022, Pagán paid tribute to his daughter and Remina on Remina’s 52nd birthday, which was also the day before Sofia’s 18th birthday.
“18 years ago, on her birthday, I drove this beautiful creature [Remini] to the hospital, where she gave me my beautiful @sofiaapagann!” he wrote. “What an absolute champ you were! Thank you Lela for making this dream come true. I am the luckiest man in the world to be able to celebrate my girls together.”
That fall, Remini and Pagán sent Sofia off to college, which the mother of one described as “the most excruciatingly painful and proudest moment of my life.”
She wrote on Instagram, “Angelo and I were sitting in the parking lot of our daughter’s school, crying like babies and talking about pulling her out and homeschooling her.”
He and Remini starred in their own reality show
Albert L. Ortega/Getty
In 2014, Remini and Pagán gave an insight into their family life on their TLC reality show, Leah Remini: It’s all relative. The series ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2015.
“My family is not that different from the rest of America,” Remini told PEOPLE ahead of the show’s premiere in 2014. “I think people like to see that, oh, just because it’s on TV and in Hollywood, I can still relate to it.”
He supported Remini in difficult times
Since leaving Scientology in 2013, Remini has been vocal about her experience with the organization, including documenting her departure in her book Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientologydocumentary series with three seasons Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath and her podcast Scientology: Fair Game.
Through it all, Pagán was by her side, supporting her both personally and beyond social media; he and Remina’s mother also left Scientology in 2013.
In a 2015 interview with ABC News. 20/20Remini said she was afraid of the consequences when she decided to leave the church because she didn’t know if her family would stand by her.
“[I thought,] ‘I’m ready to walk away from everyone I’ve ever known and cut ties with my own husband, my own mother,’ because you never know what they’re going to decide,” she recalled, noting that their decision to stay by her side meant “everything.”
Pagán was also there for the less serious things in life, like when Remini realized she was a “scaredy cat” while attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.
“I had my arms around my husband’s waist and I was walking with him with my eyes closed,” she told PEOPLE in 2014. “Every time I opened my eyes, there was something terrible.”
He is an avid golfer
Angelo Pagano’s Instagram
One of Pagán’s favorite hobbies is golf, and he often enjoys golf outings with his sons. One of his other frequent link partners is none other than George Lopez.
“Playing golf with my brother @georgelopez is like @disneyland for big kids and yes, that was my birdie!” the singer captioned the video on Instagram in January 2022.
He is good friends with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Remini and Jennifer Lopez have been best friends since the beginning; the couple met through Lopez’s ex-husband, Marco Anthony, with whom both Remini and Pagán are close. In fact, Pagán called Anthony “mi hermanito” on Instagram, which translates to “my little brother.”
“I was friends with Marc Anthony, and then he started dating Jennifer, and he was making a movie, Man on fire. I went to his premiere and he said, ‘Oh my God, you have to meet Jennifer!’ Remini later said Party tonight 2018 when she and Lopez were promoting their movie Second act.
She continued: “And Jennifer was saying, ‘You have to meet Leah and Angel,’ my husband. We went to the premiere, I went hoping she was ugly in real life. And then, when I walked up to her, I said, ‘I hope I think it’s because of the lighting.’ And when I got closer I said, ‘Oh hell, there’s a lot of light in here and she looks really pretty.’ ”
He adopted a rescue dog
In addition to Sophia, Remini and Pagán are also parents to a Husky mix named Louie. In September 2019, they adopted a rescue puppy and he regularly appears on their Instagrams.
“A boy and his dog! This guy here keeps me young. I’m 12 again,” Pagán captioned a 2019 video of him and Louie.
Remini and Pagán announced their separation in August 2024
On August 29, Remini and Pagán revealed in a joint post on Instagram that they were divorcing after 21 years of marriage.
In their joint post, the couple said “we’ve both changed, as people do, and we’re used to playing roles that no longer suit us.”
“Our relationship is still going strong — it’s just evolved into something different,” the post continued. “We think that a marriage that has lasted this long and created so many great memories, especially raising our amazing daughter, is something to celebrate. From our perspective, this marriage has been a huge success. And now we look forward to creating even more cherished moments—just in a different way.” way.”
Remini and Pagán added that they hope their relationship journey “can inspire others to see that relationships — whether they change or end — are not failures.”
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Source: HIS Education