Joey Lawrence opens up about starting a new chapter amid his divorce from Samantha Cope.
On the August 30 episode of his podcast, Under brotherly love, the Melissa and Joey The alum, 48, discussed how he is coping after Cope filed for divorce on Aug. 20 and allegations surfaced that he had an affair with his For Christmas costar Melina Alves.
“I try to protect my children at all costs and what has happened lately is not right,” Lawrence explained. “It was this multifaceted journey of these four [or] five years. In fact, there was a lot of pain along the way despite public perception and how it looks [on social].”
Despite the challenges, Lawrence said he hopes to now focus on family as he moves on to the next step in his life.
“Life will go on and we will get through this. And my kids will be in the front rows,” he said of 19-month-old daughter Dylan (whom he shares with Cope) and his children from his second marriage with ex-wife Chandie Yawn-Nelson: Charleston, 18, and Liberty, 14.
“I always am and always will be the best dad I can be and I will take care of my girls until the day I die. And I will cherish them and respect them and do my best for them,” he added. “I’m not perfect, but I’ll do my best for them.”
Joey Lawrence Is Trying To Take Samantha Cope’s Divorce ‘Easy’ But Is Very ‘Upset’ With How It’s Going (Exclusive Source)
“Just try to understand that it’s a private trip and we’re going to do our best,” he continued on the podcast. “And I’ll make sure it’s the best [daughter] Dylan, obviously like me [daughters] Charlie and Libby. That’s the most important thing.”
A day before the podcast aired, Cope, 37, shared a statement with PEOPLE after Lawrence claimed they had a “deeply troubled marriage” and that his daughters Charleston and Liberty were not “accepted” by the actress in his statement on Instagram.
“As a mother who values her daughter above all else, I find these false allegations deeply troubling,” Cope said in a statement. “I’m convinced that the truth is known to me, Joey and God.”
“I choose to focus on healing, caring for my daughter and processing the loss of my marriage and family,” she continued.
Joey Lawrence allegedly had an affair with his wife Samantha Cope before Split: ‘He loved her – bombarded her’ (exclusive source)
Joey Lawrence and Samantha Cope with their daughter.
Samantha Cope/Instagram
In his own statement, Lawrence also claimed that the couple’s “short-lived marriage was fraught with difficulties from the start” and that their “differences became insurmountable” while also denying that he had a physical relationship with Alves during the filming of their film For Christmas.
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, PEOPLE confirmed that Lawrence and Cope are separating after two years of marriage.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Cope cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split and filed the paperwork on Aug. 13 — two months after the separation date, which was listed as June 7, 2024. Cope requested that the court block the possibility award spousal support to either party. She is also seeking full physical custody of their daughter Dylan, 19 months, while allowing Lawrence visitation at her discretion.
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Shortly after news of Lawrence and Cope’s divorce broke, a source close to the family told PEOPLE that Lawrence allegedly had an affair with Melina Alves, his co-star from For Christmas. Another source claims the two “had a working relationship and were partners in several 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 of this.”
Another insider later told PEOPLE that Lawrence and Cope’s split helped improve the actor’s relationship with his loved ones and mend his co-parenting relationship with Nelson.
“When they divorced, things got exponentially better between him and his ex-wife and their girlfriends,” the source said of Lawrence. “Joey is strong and strong in his faith so he’s trying to take it all in stride, but he’s very disappointed and upset about how this all turned out.”
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