Every so often, there comes along a television couple whose on-set chemistry is downright electric. For the better part of the 2000s, that couple was Leah Remini and Kevin James. The “King of Queens” co-stars played husband and wife in a hysterically imperfect — but undeniably loving — relationship, and their relatable banter drew in millions season after season.
For some actors, building this type of connection can take time, but as Remini tells “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” in the above video, her affinity for James began the moment they met.
“My agent calls and says, ‘You have an audition,’ and so, I meet Kevin James. He made me laugh in the first two seconds of meeting him,” she recalls. “It was just instant chemistry. Really, Kevin was the reason I did [the show].”
James and Remini had hit it off, and his natural charm always put her at ease.
“Kevin was very disarming when I walked in the room,” Remini says. “Kevin smiles with his eyes, and there’s something so sweet and warm about somebody like [that]… Their soul comes out. He was one of those people to me. So, I fell in love with him, and he was my ‘husband’ for 10 years.”
In 2007, however, “The King Of Queens” came to an end, and Remini found herself feeling not unlike a woman whose marriage had just dissolved.
“When the show ended, I didn’t really know what to do,” she admits. “I was petrified. I was scared all of a sudden. What I was used to is no longer. Even though there’s a lead-up to it, you’re just never prepared for it.”
Nowadays, Remini is giving television viewers a glimpse into her real-life relationship, with husband Angelo Pagán, on a TLC reality show about their family, called “Leah Remini: It’s All Relative.” Though this marks an exciting new chapter for the actress, she says she’ll always feel bonded to “The King of Queens.”
“[There are] so many memories connected to it. It’s not something you just get over,” Remini told HuffPost Live earlier this summer. “I think I’m still recovering from… not going there every day. It’s just something that becomes part of your blood.”
“Oprah: Where Are They Now?” returns to OWN with new episodes this fall.
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