Oh man, I don’t think this Joey Lawrence divorce story is going away anytime soon. For those of you just joining this messy gossip party, here’s a very quick recap: Late last week, we found out that Joey’s third wife, Samantha Cope, filed for divorce after two years of marriage. She also filed for full custody of their daughter, 19-month-old Dylan, and alleged that Joey cheated on her with a co-star of his upcoming Christmas movie, an actress named Melina Alves. Joey’s camp pushed back, throwing shade at Samantha and accusing her of ruining his relationship with his two teenage daughters and their mother, his second ex wife. According to Joey’s sources, their issues were more than just the alleged infidelity.
Well, now Melina’s PR has entered the building. After Joey’s sources ran to People, I thought for sure that Samantha would clap back, but it looks like Melina beat her to it. On Wednesday, Alves, who also served as a producer on Socked in for Christmas, released a statement through her Instagram account denying that she and Joey were affair-ing on set. According to Melina, there was “no sexual relationship” between the costars while they were filming, but rather a “meaningful friendship.” She also claims that she was already separated from her husband when she met Joey.
“It is with a deep sadness and heavy heart that I must address the recent allegations about the relationship between myself and Joey Lawrence, which have unfortunately become a public matter,” Alves, 40, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, August 28. “As a private person, it is deeply distressing to see such personal and sensitive issues being discussed so openly and inaccurately.”
Alves fervently denied having a “sexual relationship” with Lawrence, 48, as her estranged husband, Edward Rider, claimed in his August divorce filing.
“Our relationship was a meaningful friendship that developed naturally due to the many similarities in our personal situations,” she stressed. “When I met Joey, I was immediately struck by his kindness, warmth and genuine character. We found common ground in our shared experiences, which led to a strong supportive friendship that has been a source of strength for both of us.”
Alves alleged that she and Rider had been separated since January 2023 and were “living in separate rooms.”
“Our marriage had been struggling for some time, and the separation was a necessary step for both of us,” Alves wrote. “I have always valued my privacy, and it is incredibly painful to have such personal matters thrust into the public eye in a way that has caused harm not only to me but also to Joey, who has been unjustly dragged into this situation.”
She continued, “I ask for understanding and respect for our privacy as we navigate these difficult circumstances. This is a deeply private matter that I never intended to become public, and I hope this clarification can help put an end to the speculation and allow both Joey and myself to move forward without further intrusion.”
Whew, with so many sides trying to get their narrative out, this story is starting to feel like the dollar store version of what’s going on with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, and Kick Kennedy. I get Melina wanting to set the record straight about being accused of a relationship that never happened, but that’s not what her statement is doing. All she’s saying is that they had an emotional affair during the production, but they didn’t boink until after filming was finished. And yeah, maybe she was separated at the time, but Joey wasn’t! Samantha listed their date of separation as June 7 of this year.
After Melina released her statement, Joey released one of his own, piggybacking off of what she said about them not having a “physical relationship” while filming the movie and doubling-down on the earlier claims that his third marriage was “deeply troubled” from the beginning and “beyond saving.” He also reiterated that Sam herself (and not the fact that him getting with her probably contributed to his second divorce) was a major factor in the deterioration in his relationship with his ex and older daughters. Samantha, for her part, just couldn’t let Joey and Melina have the last word. (Called it!!) In a statement, she said that she found their “false accusations deeply troubling” and that she was “confident” that both God and Joey knew the truth. Your move, Joey…
Photos via Instagram
I didn’t care about this mess until he came out claiming to be such an upright Christian. Ugh, forget this guy and his longtime cheating ways.
Slow celebrity gossip cycle. ha ha I have not thought of him existing in decades
Can we please discuss the REAL issue here? What the hell does “Socked in for Christmas” mean?
lol I was giggling when I read that titled the first time and made a weird face saying to myself “socked in??? …for xmas???” :S
“Socked in” means being stuck or shut down because of bad weather. Mostly, I’ve heard it for when an airport is shut down for dense fog or a blizzard. Maybe this is one of those “romance between strangers while stuck at the airport” kind of stories.
Thank you, I was wondering.
Dollar tree Jen and Ben…lololol
I’m not interested in the parties but I’m kind of intrigued by the messiness of this all. Does that make sense?
The drama played out is definitely more interesting than the sock Christmas movie!
This is lean rhymes & eddie cibrian 2.0 verson to me
I’m dying at Dollar Tree Jen & Ben.
I have stared in bafflement at his header pic for far too long this morning bc it looks like he is wearing a helmet. But I think it’s actually his hair. However, I really thought it was a helmet. Maybe it was the lighting in the pic idk.
Didn’t he go bald, or was that a different Lawrence brother? Anyway my guess is this weird hair has something to do with a hair transplant
So very, very messy. Yikes.
How does this guy keep attracting women and getting them to marry him?
Thinking identical thing. I do NOT see the appeal of this guy. On any level.
Add me to that – he was a good looking guy way back when but his previous partying lifestyle snatched them and he has a vibe to him that just skeeves me out. Didn’t he have a drug addiction at one point?
Sounds to me like she’s angling to be wife no. 4.
Nobody ruins your relationship with your children. You let them ruin your relationship.
Thank you. Among many other misogynistic tropes out there, the evil stepmother who breaks up a loving father’s relationship with his kids is among the worst. Where is his agency?
Absolutely!
But I am also curious what he is trying to say there. It sounds like he is blaming Wife #3 for ruining relationship with Wife #2 and kids from the marriage to #2.
To ME that reads as “he cheated on Wife #2 with Wife #3 and his kids and ex wife are pissed. That is on him. That CAN’T be what he means, right?
Another possibility is that Wife # 3 made thigs difficult with Wife #2 and daughters. But if that is the case, it goes back to what you said. Even if Wife #3 WAS terrible to his ex and kids, it’s up to him to make sure that doesn’t happen.
And no one cares WHEN they had sex. Plenty of marriages are ended over purely emotional affairs. Some people find an EA harder to get past than a purely physical one.
God says, leave me out of this mess please! This lady’s “explanation” is taking the long way round to excuse a tale as old as time.
I am here to say that I would have slept with Ricardo Chavez if i was in that movie. He is HOT.
Also, physical affair or not, it must have been emotional! Clearly it ended his marriage. He sounds messy. This feels like Tori Spelling and Dean or Leeann Rimes and Eddie.