Joey Lawrence Opens Up About 'Multifaceted Journey' During Marriage to Samantha Cope: 'I'm Not Perfect'

Mar. 15, 2025

Joey Lawrence.Photo:Frank Micelotta/FOX/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

Frank Micelotta/FOX/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

Joey Lawrenceis opening up about beginning a new chapter amid hisdivorcefromSamantha Cope.

On the August 30 episode of his podcast,The Brotherly Love Pod,theMelissa and Joeyalum, 48, discussed how he is navigating life after after Cope filed for divorce on Aug. 20 andallegations surfacedthat he had an affair with hisSocked in for Christmascostar Melina Alves.

“I try to protect my children at all costs and what’s happened lately is not OK,” Lawrence explained. “This has been a multifaceted journey these four [or] five years. Actually, there was a lot of pain in that journey despite public perception and what it looks like [on social].”

Despite the challenges, Lawrence shared that he hopes to now focus on family as he navigates the next step in his life.

“Life will move on and we will move through this. And my children will be at the forefront," he said of 19-month-old daughter Dylan (whom he shares with Cope) and his children from his second marriage to ex-wifeChandie Yawn-Nelson: Charleston, 18, and Liberty, 14.

“As a mother who values her daughter above all else, I find these false accusations deeply troubling,” Cope shared in the statement. “I am confident that the truth is known to me, to Joey, and to God.”

“I am choosing to put my focus on healing, caring for my daughter, and processing the loss of my marriage and my family,” she continued.

Joey Lawrence and Samantha Cope with daughter.samantha cope/Instagram

samantha cope/Instagram

In his own statement, Lawrence also claimed the pair’s “short-lived marriage was fraught with difficulties from the beginning” and their “differences became insurmountable” while also denying having a physical relationship with Alves while filming their movieSocked in for Christmas.

On Wednesday, Aug. 20, PEOPLE confirmed that Lawrence and Cope wereseparating after two years of marriage.

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Shortly after Lawrence and Cope’s divorce news broke, a source close to the family told PEOPLE that Lawrenceallegedly had an affairwith Melina Alves, his costar onSocked in for Christmas. Another source claimed the two “had a working relationship and were partners on a couple things.”

“He knew she was also going through a divorce,” the source continued. “He was very empathetic to her situation as well and called her collateral damage when it comes to all this.”

Another insider later told PEOPLE that Lawrence and Cope’s separationhelped improve the actor’s relationship with his loved onesand mend his coparenting relationship with Nelson.

“Once they split, things got exponentially better between him and his ex wife and their girls,” the source said of Lawrence. “Joey’s strong and strong in his faith so he’s trying to take it all in stride, but he is very disappointed and upset at how all of this has turned out.”

source: people.com