Leah Remini and Angelo Pagán Announce They Are Filing for Divorce After 21 Years of Marriage: 'What's Best for Us'

Leah Remini and husband Angelo Pagán are going their separate ways after more than two decades of marriage.

The King of Queens alum, 54, and the entrepreneur announced their decision to end their marriage after 21 years in a joint Instagram post on Thursday, Aug. 29.

"Well, here we are. After 28 years together and 21 years of marriage, we have decided to file for divorce," the announcement began. "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."

The statement continued, "We are proud of how we have worked through this together." While they figure out their "new normal," they said they will still continue "celebrating holidays together, watching our favorite tv shows together, and gathering as a family."

"So, the big question—why? To put it simply, we both changed, as people do, and we got used to playing roles that didn’t fit us anymore. After a lot of effort and consideration, we’ve decided to take this step, which reflects who we are today," they wrote.

"Our bond is still strong—it’s just evolved into something different. We think a marriage that lasted this long and created so many beautiful memories, especially raising our incredible daughter, is something to celebrate. From our perspective, this marriage was a huge success. And now, we’re looking forward to creating even more cherished moments—just in a different way."

Remini and Pagán said they wanted to be "as transparent as we can be" since they shared their marriage "so publicly" on TV over the years.

"We are sharing this unknown territory with you all as we take our first steps into this next stage of our lives publicly," the statement continued. "We would love for everyone to have more access to different kinds of relationship stories and not feel so isolated in 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—aren’t failures. We’ll keep sharing snippets of our lives as we navigate this new chapter."

The actress first met Pagán in 1996 when he was performing at El Floridita, a Cuban club and restaurant in Los Angeles.

The couple later wed in 2003 and welcomed a daughter, Sofia Bella, on June 16, 2004. Pagán also has three sons — Angelo Jr., Alex and Nico — from a previous relationship.

"For me, it was love at first sight," Remini recalled during a 2010 interview for Redbook magazine.

In 2019, she opened up about their first meeting during an appearance on the short-lived talk show RuPaul, saying, "I saw him across the room and was like, 'Damn! What time do you get off?'"

"It was like everything wrong, like everything that you should not do as a girl is ask a guy when he gets off work, hit it real quick, and it was a lot of that ... I was like a groupie,” she jokingly added. "It was just really bad, all bad looks."

Remini was also frank about the ups and downs the pair faced during their relationship.

"It's a beautiful love story because we did have a hard time at the beginning," she explained. "We didn't meet under the best of circumstances. We got counseling and it was not an easy road. So I'm saying these things to be funny, once again, but the truth of the matter is he is my rock."

Over the years, Remini and Pagán worked together on various occasions, including on her hit sitcom The King of Queens, where Pagán made several guest appearances.

More recently, Remini revealed on her X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram accounts that she earned an associate's degree from New York University (NYU) in March.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Next to a photo of her diploma, Remini expressed that she began the "terrifying journey" three years ago "at the age of 50 after only having an 8th-grade education."

"After three years of hard work, long nights, tears, and wanting to give up so many times, I have earned an associate's degree from NYU. I'm now working on my bachelor's degree," Remini announced.