Joey Lawrence’s Estranged Wife Shares Her Struggles Amid His Alleged Affair

Joey Lawrence has remained silent amid allegations of an affair with his Socked in for Christmas co-star, Melina Alves. Alves’ estranged husband, Edward Rider, brought these claims to light in his New Jersey divorce filing, and now Lawrence’s ex-wife, Samantha Cope, is finally speaking out.

The 37-year-old actress filed for divorce in California on Aug. 20. On her social media, she referenced the challenging period in her life through an Instagram video. The post depicted joyful moments with her 19-month-old daughter, Dylan, contrasted with teary instances alone in her car. “An amazing friend of mine 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,'” she captioned the Aug. 25 post. “She also reminded me: ‘the more you cry, the less you pee.’ So let them flow. You got this.”

You can see her video clip HERE.

Cope is taking a firm stance against her ex-husband in the divorce proceedings. “Samantha will have 100% physical custody of Dylan with visitation to Joe at Samantha’s discretion,” the court documents noted, as reported by E! News. “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.” The documents also include a clause related to Lawrence’s affair, stating that Dylan “is not to be in the presence of any non-family members while with Joe unless agreed upon by Samantha.”

An insider close to Cope revealed more about Lawrence’s rumored affair with Alves. “Joey met Melina Alves on the set of their movie, where she was a producer,” the source told People. “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.” Despite attending couples’ therapy, Lawrence continued to see Alves and would “get ready for dates with Melina while Sam watched, bawling her eyes out.”

Alves’ estranged husband, Rider, noted in his court filings, according to TMZ, that the affair was more than a brief indiscretion. He discovered their alleged relationship in late March but waited until late July to file for divorce. It’s a complicated situation, but Cope is finding strength through her tears, showing resilience in the face of adversity.

Before you go, click here to see more co-star couples we’ll always wonder about.