Leah Remini pays tribute to former ‘Scientology and the Aftermath’ co-host Mike Rinder after his death: ‘I am shattered’

nypost.com:

death of Mike Rinder on Sunday at age 69, the actress, 54, paid homage to the late star on social media. “On Sunday, we lost a giant, and I lost a man who was more than a friend—he was family,” Remini wrote on Instagram Tuesday about her former co-host on the A&E show, “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.” “It’s impossible to imagine the last 13 years of my life without Mike Rinder.

He was my trusted partner and my closest confidant,” she noted.Reflecting on leaving Scientology in 2013, Remini recalled that Rinder “was one of the first people I turned to.

From that moment, he became my lifeline.”“Together, we embarked on an incredible journey that included The Aftermath and our podcast, Fair Game.

But Mike was so much more than my partner in this fight—he was my brother, my father, and my best friend,” she continued about their work together.“The King of Queens” alum confessed that not only did the pair have a close bond for leaving the church, but Rinder “saved my life and the life of my daughter and he stood by me through battles that felt insurmountable.”“I haven’t come to terms with the reality that I can’t call him and hear his voice anymore.