Joey Lawrence’s estranged wife Samantha Cope breaks silence after divorce filing: ‘Don’t be afraid of the tears’
Joey Lawrence’s estranged wife, Samantha Cope, has spoken out for the first time since filing for divorce from the actor on Aug. 13.
“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 an Instagram Reel Saturday.
Adding some humor to the inspirational post, she penned, “She also reminded me: ‘the more you cry, the less you pee.’”
“So let them flow. You got this. 🩵🙏🏻.”
Samantha Cope spoke out for the first time after filing for divorce from actor Joey Lawrence on Aug. 13 via an Instagram video. Screenshots of the inspirational video can be seen above and below. Samantha Cope/Instagram
The video consisted of clips of Cope crying as well as happily spending time with her and Lawrence’s 1-year-old daughter, Dylan Rose. Samantha Cope/Instagram
The video showed various clips of Cope, 37, blissfully spending time with her and Lawrence’s 1-year-old daughter, Dylan Rose. Matching the message of the post, she added some snippets of herself crying as well.
It was narrated by a touching voiceover that said, “Look at you, look how far you’ve come.”
“You’ve faced your trauma, and you came out on the other side. And I’m sorry to get a little emotional.”
“But there were some times there that I was really worried about you, miss girl. But look at you today. I am so proud of you. You’re a survivor baby.”
“An amazing friend of mine recently told me ‘don’t be afraid of the tears,’” the actress captioned the video. A screenshot of her smiling with Dylan in the video can be seen here. Samantha Cope/Instagram
Cope, seen holding Dylan above, went on, “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 Cope/Instagram
While Cope did not directly mention her divorce, it’s been a trying week for her.
On Thursday, the 48-year-old “Melissa & Joey” star was accused of having an affair with his “Socked in for Christmas” co-star, Melina Alves.
Alves’ husband, Edward Rider, filed for divorce and accused her of sleeping with Lawrence in his court documents. He claimed he discovered their extramarital relationship in March.
Cope, filmed crying in the social media video above, set the montage to motivational audio about making progress. Samantha Cope/Instagram
“You’ve faced your trauma, and you came out on the other side,” one part of the audio narrated. Samantha Cope/Instagram
“Joey met Melina Alves on the set of their movie, where she was a producer,” a source claimed to People Friday.
“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.”
Furthermore, the insider alleged Lawrence would “get ready for dates with Melina while Sam watched, bawling her eyes out.”
On Thursday, Lawrence was accused of having a sexual relationship with his “Socked in for Christmas” co-star, Melina Alves. Penske Media via Getty Images
Alves’ husband claimed in his divorce filing from Thursday that he discovered their affair in March. Instagram/@iammelinaalves
Cope and Lawrence got together after meeting on the set of Lifetime’s “My Husband’s Secret Brother” in 2021.
They walked down the aisle in May 2022 and welcomed their daughter in January 2023.
The actress cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split and listed their date of separation as June 7.
An insider told People Friday that Lawrence “love-bombed” Alves while they were filming. Getty Images
He also reportedly continued the affair after Cope confronted him about it. Instagram/@iammelinaalves
On June 11, she shared a cryptic message on Instagram that read, “Not everything you lose is a loss. Some things are freedom.”
Cope is seeking full physical custody of their daughter and asked that Lawrence be allowed to have visitation only at her discretion.
She also asked that he be barred from taking Dylan for extended visits until she’s older.
Cope cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split in her divorce filing. samanthaccope/Instagram
She is seeking full physical custody of their daughter. Instagram/joeylawrence
“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,” her filing reads.
“He will not take her 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.”
Lawrence has not responded to the divorce filing as of Saturday evening.
