Joey Lawrence's Wife Samantha Cope Breaks Silence Amid Divorce

Samantha Cope is getting vulnerable.

After the 37-year-old filed for divorce from Joey Lawrence citing irreconcilable differences, it was alleged in separate court documents that Joey cheated on Samantha with his Socked in for Christmas Melina Alves. Now, Samantha has broken her silence in her first social media message.

“An amazing friend of mine,” she began an Aug. 25 post, which featured a montage of emotional clips, “recently told me ‘don’t be afraid of the tears. Let them flow. Because every tear is God gently squeezing the pain and devastation from your heart to make room for new beautiful feelings to come in.’”

Samantha—who was married to Joey for two years before their breakup—couldn’t help but add in a quick joke: “She also reminded me: ‘the more you cry, the less you pee.’ So let them flow. You got this.”

Behind the video—which featured clips of Samantha with her and Joey’s 19-month-old daughter Dylan—was an audio track that said, “Look how far you've come. You faced your trauma. You came out on the other side. And there were some times there when I was really worried about you, but look at you today.”

In her Aug. 13 divorce filing, which listed her and the Blossom alum’s date of separation as June 7, Samantha requested sole physical custody and shared legal custody of Dylan.

"Samantha will have 100% physical custody of Dylan with visitation to Joe at Samantha's discretion," her filing, obtained by E! News, read. "Once Dylan is 3 or older, Joe will have the option to take her for 2 nights in her home location if he is not working and can facilitate her visiting." Joey has not issued a response or commented publicly on his separation at this time.  

The Insecure actress’ proposal also included the request that Joey will not take their daughter for "long, extended periods of time until she is old enough to specifically ask for the visitation time and all parties agree and able to facilitate."

But shortly after the news of Samantha’s filing, it came to light that Melina Alves’ and her husband Edward Rider were in the process of ending their marriage. Edward alleged in his own divorce papers—filed in July—that Melina and Joey had an affair while each married to their respective spouses.

As alleged in Edward’s court documents, obtained by E! News, Joey and Melina “committed adultery" in California, as well as "various other times and places."

E! News reached out to Joey, Samantha and Melina’s reps for comment at the time but hasn't heard back. Edward’s attorney had no comment when reached about the allegations.

But as Samantha grapples with her divorce from Joey—who was previously married to Michelle Vella and  shares daughters Charleston, 18, and Liberty, 14, with second wife Chandie Yawn Nelson—she is continuing to focus on the positives.

As she shared in a June 11 post, shared four days after her and Joey’s date of separation, “Not everything you lose is a loss. Some things are freedom. Some things are a second chance.”

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