Leah Remini Opens Up About Her Friendship with Jennifer Lopez After Their Divorces: ‘The Love Is Never Lost’

Leah Remini is setting the record straight on her decades-long friendship with Jennifer Lopez—and how life changes, including divorce, haven’t dimmed the deep affection between the two stars. In an exclusive cover story with Us Weekly, Remini, 54, candidly revealed that despite physical distance and shifting life circumstances, her bond with Lopez, 55, remains strong and supportive.

“Right after the divorce, we’d text each other loving messages of support,” Remini shared, referencing her recent split from husband Angelo Pagán and Lopez’s finalized divorce from Ben Affleck earlier this year. Remini was quick to dispel rumors of any rift, emphasizing, “Sometimes you don’t talk to people every day like you used to, but that doesn’t mean the love is lost. Friendships ebb and flow. That doesn’t mean we’re at odds.”

Remini, who is now twelve years out from her high-profile departure from Scientology, acknowledged that she’s in a “different place” in life, reflecting on a period when she rarely left her house. “I started to come out a bit but was still careful and cautious,” she admitted. That sense of retreat and reassessment is something she shares with Lopez, who has weathered her own share of very public breakups, reconciliations, and personal transformations.

The two first bonded in 2004 at an event while Lopez was dating Marc Anthony. Over the years, Remini and Lopez supported one another through major milestones, including the births of Lopez’s twins, Max and Emme, and Remini’s journey as a mother to her daughter, Sofia. Despite Remini’s absence from Lopez’s 2022 wedding to Affleck—a detail that sparked headlines—Remini clarified it was due to moving Sofia into college, not any falling out.

Remini’s view on friendship is refreshingly grounded: “Not everybody is meant to be in your life in the way that they were. When you grow out of that person that you were, that doesn’t mean that you are at odds with them.” She counts a tight circle of confidantes—Michelle Visage, Holly Robinson, Tisha Campbell, and Chelsea Handler among them—as her “lifeline,” and cherishes hours spent laughing and crying together.

Ballroom dance, too, has become an anchor in her post-Scientology life. “Tony Dovolani made me a fan,” Remini said of her Dancing with the Stars partner, adding that her dance teacher is now “part of the family.”

For Remini, true friendship isn’t measured by daily texts or constant appearances. “For my birthday, I’ll have dinner and invite people that I haven’t seen all year, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love them… We’re still friends today. I have great friends.”

Her story is a testament to the evolving nature of relationships—proof that real bonds can bend, adapt, and survive, even as life moves on. For Remini and Lopez, the connection remains—different, perhaps, but always filled with love.