Joey Lawrence was allegedly having an affair with co-star Melina Alves amid divorce with Samantha Cope

Joey Lawrence's divorce from Samantha Cope got complicated, as his co-star Melina Alves's estranged husband accused Lawrence of having an affair with Alves.

Alves's husband, Edward Rider, filed for divorce from the actress in July 2024 in New Jersey. In the docs obtained by Page Six and E! News, he noted that Alves "committed adultery" while she was in California among "various other times and places." Rider also mentioned in the latest filing that he found out that his former wife had a s*xual relationship with Joey Lawrence around late March.

Lawrence and Alves worked together in the holiday movie Socked in for Christmas, which is currently in post-production as per IMDb. While it's unsure if the alleged affair happened while filming for the movie, one of their cast members shared a June post on Instagram about doing a promotional photo shoot for the Christmas movie in Hollywood.

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Samantha Cope cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for Joey Lawrence's split

Samantha Cope had officially filed to legally separate from Joey Lawrence after more than two years of marriage, and she stated in the docs that "irreconcilable differences" were the reason for her seeking divorce. Per her filing, she and Lawrence had been separated since June 7, and she also said in court that neither she nor Lawrence should be awarded spousal support.

Before news of the divorce filing broke, Cope shared a cryptic message on Instagram about loss and freedom on June 12, 2024. The passage (by author Brianna Wiest) partly read:

"Not everything you lose is a loss. Some things are a freedom. Some things are a second chance. Some things are a miracle in disguise."

The passage also read:

"Some things are a detachment long-needed, a clarity brought to blurry eyes."

Alongside this passage, she posted a collection of images, featuring Samantha Cope and her daughter with Joey Lawrence, Dylan Rose.

In her divorce filing, the actress said that she is opposed to Lawrence taking their daughter for extended periods until she is at least three years old. Even then, he is only allowed to take her for two nights "in her home location," and only if he's not working and can "facilitate her visiting."

Cope also noted in the docs that the actor should be "available for the full time" when their daughter is visiting. She added that their child is a minor and shouldn't be in the presence of any non-family members unless Samantha gives her explicit permission.

Joey Lawrence and Samantha Cope met while they were filming the movie My Husband's Secret Brother for Lifetime channel in 2020. Lawrence, who had two previous marriages and had filed for bankruptcy in 2017, wed Cope in 2022.