Joey Lawrence Is 'Thankful' to Have a 'Second Chance' with Wife Samantha Cope After Making 'Terrible Mistakes'

Mar. 15, 2025

Joey Lawrence and Samantha Cope.Photo:samantha cope/Instagram

samantha cope/Instagram

Joey Lawrenceis owning up to his “mistakes” after reconciling withhis wife Samantha Cope.

The actor, 48, announcedhis reconciliation with Cope, 37, on Dec. 4 via Instagram, and is now opening up about how “thankful” he is to have their relationship back on track aftershe filed for divorce in August.

“I’m very thankful. It’s been great. You know, you make some terrible mistakes and it just feels great to have a second chance to get everything right,” Lawrence toldEntertainment Tonight. “So I love her to death and I’m very thankful.”

Admitting it was “brutal” to work through their relationship issues so publicly — a source told PEOPLE in August thatLawrence allegedly had an affair with costar Melina Alveswhich prompted the split — theMelissa & Joeystar said he made “some serious mistakes” with Cope.

“You don’t handle things correctly and there’s a lot of pressure and like I said, going through it publicly doesn’t make it any easier,” he told the outlet.

Lawrence previously denied having an affair with Alves, writing in a statement on Instagram in August, “Melina and I became close friends and I did not have a physical relationship with her while filming the movieSocked in for Christmas. These rumors are false.”

Joey Lawrence reunites with wife Samantha Cope.Joey Lawrence/Instagram

Joey Lawrence/Instagram

In a statement on Aug. 28, Alves said the pair’s relationship began as a “meaningful friendship” onSocked in for Christmasand denied having any “sexual relationship” with Lawrence at the time.

During Lawrence’s recent interview he talked about making “bad decisions.”

“And then you make some more bad decisions… And at the end of the day, life is what happens outside of the cameras. And when your heart is hurting, just to have an opportunity to get it right this time with her… I’m really thankful. She’s amazing and I love her to death.”

Lawrence also said that he now knows he has to “put your wife first” but admitted, “There’s a lot of things that come into play that just make it very difficult to do that.”

Joey Lawrence and Samantha Cope.Joey Lawrence/Instagram

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“While these situations are always multifaceted, I’d like to keep the details of it and my friendship with Joey private,” Alves said in a statement, “As far as Joey and Sam reuniting and reconciling, it came as a surprise to me as everyone else, and if it’s true, I wish them all the love.”

source: people.com