An insider claims there was a key reason Samantha Cope filed for divorce from her husband of two years, Joey Lawrence: infidelity. In an exclusive interview with People, a source close to the estranged couple revealed that the 48-year-old actor started a relationship with one of his costars on his upcoming film, Socked In For Christmas, which led to Samantha calling it quits after he continued seeing the woman despite her confronting him about it.
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The alleged affair happened with one of his coworkers.
Writer and actress Melina Alves is who Joey reportedly cheated on Samantha with. "Joey met Melina Alves on the set of their movie, where she was a producer," the source said. "He then love-bombed her just like he love-bombed Samantha. He continued to date Melina even after Samantha found out about it and confronted him."
Samantha wanted counseling.
According to the source, the 37-year-old actress "wanted to go to counseling." Joey, however, "fooled their counselor" and would "get ready for dates with Melina while Sam watched, bawling her eyes out."
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Melina's ex also claimed infidelity.
On August 22, TMZ reported that Melina's estranged husband, Edward Rider, had filed for divorce in July. In the divorce filings obtained by the news outlet, Edward claimed he discovered Melina was having an affair with Joey in late March. He accused them of having the affair in California, which is where they were based while filming the Christmas movie, as well as "at various other times and places."
Samantha filed for divorce shortly afterward.
Samantha filed for divorce on August 13, 2024. In the filing, a date of separation for the couple was listed as June 7, 2024. She is seeking full custody of their daughter, 19-month-old daughter Dylan.
People weighed in with their opinions.
Social media users gave their opinions on the news.
"So all the Lawrence guys have turned out to be tools, got it ," one person commented.
"Well he cheated on his other two wives, including leaving his last wife for this 3rd wife, so well a leopard never changed his spots," another user wrote. "And also how you get them is how you lose them … ."
