Getty Images; Courtesy of Melina Alves/Instagram
Melina Alves Breaks Silence Amid Joey Lawrence Affair Rumors, Denies ‘Sexual Relationship’ Claims
Joey Lawrence was reportedly accused of adultery after his costar Melina Alves’ estranged husband, Edward Rider, accused Melina of cheating on him with Joey in his divorce documents, which were obtained by TMZ. One week after the claims were revealed, Melina has spoken out about the allegations.
“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,” Melina, 40, began in a statement issued 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.”
After denying having a “sexual relationship” with Joey, 48, she said that she and her costar had “a meaningful friendship that developed naturally due to the many similarities in our personal situations.”
“When I met Joey, I was immediately struck by his kindness, warmth and genuine character,” Melina continued. “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.”
Edward previously claimed that Melina had an affair with Joey, which he alleged he found out about in March. Edward made the adultery accusation in his late July divorce filing. Joey and Melina are set to star together in the upcoming TV movie, Socked in for Christmas.
The news comes one day after it was revealed on Wednesday, August 21, that Joey’s wife, Samantha Cope, filed for divorce on August 6, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
In her divorce filing with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Samantha, 37, listed her date of separation from Joey as June 7. Four days after the split, she shared a cryptic post on Instagram.
A quote slide read, “Not everything is a loss. Some things are a freedom. Some things are a second chance. Some things are a miracle in disguise.” It was followed by a series of photos of Samantha and the estranged couple’s daughter, Dylan Rose, but none of the snapshots included Joey. The actress had previously shared plenty of loved-up PDA photos featuring her estranged husband.
While Samantha didn’t request spousal support in her divorce filing, she was very specific in her custody demands regarding the former couple’s 20-month-old daughter.
In her court documents, the Flowers and Honey actress asked for “100 percent physical custody of Dylan with visitation to Joe at Samantha’s discretion.” She further requested, “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 Salt Lake City, Utah, native demanded that Joey would not take Dylan 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,” adding that the actor “must be available for the full time she is visiting while she is a minor.”
Samantha also requested that Dylan “not to be in the presence of any non-family members while with Joe,” unless she agrees to it.
Joey and Samantha met and fell in love in 2020 while making the Lifetime original movie My Husband’s Secret Brother. The pair wed on May 1, 2022, in an outdoor ceremony attended by family and friends at the Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, California. The duo welcomed Dylan on January 16, 2023.
Samantha gushed about her future husband in an October 2021 Instagram post when their movie was about to premiere. Next to a poster of the film’s artwork she wrote, “New movie airing on @lifetimemovies this week! My Husband’s Secret Brother will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the movie that led me to my future hubby.”
She added about the meeting Joey on the project, “That amazing October morning … driving to work-about to start a new project, having no idea that God had even bigger things in store.”
Joey and Samantha worked together on two more TV movies: 2021’s Mistletoe Mixup and 2023’s Frankie Meets Jack.
When promoting the latter, the former Dancing With the Stars contestant told People in December 2023, “I’d never dated somebody that I’d worked with before. That was just very, very much out of the ordinary for me,” about falling for Samantha, joking, “I was her lover — and also her killer [in the film].”
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