New details about Joey Lawrence’s alleged affair with his former co-star have emerged just days after his ex-wife Samantha Cope filed for divorce.
A source described as “close to the former couple” claimed on Friday that they split after Lawrence, 48, began a romantic relationship with his Socked In For Christmas co-star Melina Alves, 40, according to People.
The former Blossom star was said to have “love bombed” the actress and writer in the same way he had previously “love bombed” his wife Samantha.
Her comments echoed statements made by Alves’ ex-husband, who claimed in his own divorce papers, filed in late July, that she and Lawrence had been sleeping together earlier this year, according to court documents obtained by TMZ on Thursday.
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Lawrence and Alves for comment.
A source close to Joey Lawrence, 48, and his ex-wife Samantha Cope, 37, claimed that he “love bombed” his Socked In For Christmas co-star after they were accused of having an affair, according to People.
They claimed Lawrence continued dating writer and actress Melina Alves (pictured) even after Cope, who filed for divorce on Wednesday, found out.
According to the new source, Lawrence and Alves met on the set of her upcoming holiday movie Socked In For Christmas, “where she was a producer.”
Alves is credited as the film’s executive producer, as well as its sole screenwriter and as the actor who plays the character Addy, according to her. IMDb page.
“He then dropped a love bomb on her just like he dropped a love bomb on Samantha,” the source alleged.
According to them, Lawrence was not intimidated even after the alleged affair was discovered.
“He continued dating Melina even after Samantha found out and confronted him,” the source said.
They add that Cope, 37, “wanted to go to therapy” and, although Lawrence was willing to accompany her, he allegedly “misled his counselor” during their sessions.
The source also claimed that Lawrence would be so brazen as to “get ready for dates with Melina while Sam watched, crying his eyes out.”
Cope filed for divorce from Lawrence on Wednesday and set a separation date of June 7, 2024.
Lawrence was previously accused of adultery in divorce court documents filed by Alves’ ex-husband, Edward Rider, in New Jersey.
By TMZRider claimed in the documents, which were filed in late July, that she learned Joey and Melina were allegedly sleeping together in late March.
Joey and Melina are accused of carrying out an alleged affair in California after starring together in Socked In For Christmas.
The source claimed Lawrence “fooled” a counselor she saw with Cope, and claimed she prepared for dates with Alves while Cope watched and “cried her eyes out”; pictured in 2008 with Edyta Sliwinska on Dancing With The Stars
Alves’ ex-husband accused her of having an affair with Lawrence in his own divorce filing in late July, according to documents obtained by TMZ; Lawrence is pictured with Cope
They were accused of carrying out the alleged affair in California after they starred together in the film Socked In For Christmas. Melina is a writer, producer and actress in the film.
Rider claims the romance continued…at various other times and places.
Melina previously posed with Joey on her Instagram page, but the photo has since been deleted.
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Joey Lawrence and Melina Alves for comment.
According to her IMDB page, Melina is a Brazilian-born producer, actress, and writer working in Los Angeles, California.
She previously worked as a flight attendant and is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish.
Lawrence met Cope on the set of a Lifetime movie and became engaged to her in August 2021, a year after splitting from his second wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson.
This comes after Samantha posted a cryptic message about the loss just days after the couple quietly split.
On June 11, he addressed Instagram to share an emotional quote with a series of snapshots of the couple’s 19-month-old daughter, Dylan.
“Not everything lost is a loss. Some things are freedom. Some things are a second chance. Some things are a miracle in disguise. Some things are a long-needed detachment, a clarity brought to clouded eyes,” said the quote by writer Brianna Wiest.
The quote also mentions an “intervention” and an “unexpected response to a long-sung prayer.”
“Some things are healing. Some things are a becoming,” the quote continues. “Some things are devastating, but others are a kind of life-giving guidance, the kind of course correction you didn’t even know you needed. The kind of correction you didn’t even realize you were asking for all along.”
The couple appears together in a now-deleted snapshot from the set.
On June 11, Cope took to Instagram to share an emotional quote with a series of snapshots of the couple’s 19-month-old daughter, Dylan.
On June 11, she took to Instagram to share an emotional quote with a series of snapshots of the couple’s 19-month-old daughter, Dylan.
In court documents, for TMZCope asked for sole custody of Dylan, saying she would allow her daughter to spend two nights a week at her father’s house when she turns three in January 2026.
Cope said neither she nor the Melissa & Joey actor should receive spousal support, the outlet reported.
Cope told the court that he does not want to allow Lawrence to have extended visits with the boy, the outlet reported, until Dylan “is older and can consent to such visits.”
In her filing, Cope requested approval for anyone other than relatives to be around her daughter while she is with Lawrence, the outlet reported.
Lawrence was previously married to Yawn-Nelson from 2005 until their divorce filing in 2020, their separation being finalized in 2021; and to Michelle Vella from 2002 to 2005.
Lawrence is also father to daughters Charleston, 18, and Liberty, 14, with Yawn-Nelson.
Lawrence and Cope met in 2020 while working on the Lifetime movie My Husband’s Secret Brother.
Lawrence and Cope revealed their engagement in August 2021. We weeklyAs he told the publication, “It’s a lot of great things, a lot of really great things. She’s the best person ever.”
“We met there and all of a sudden it was a crazy year and a half for everyone, obviously the whole world,” he said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. “So when you least expect it, amazing things happen and meeting her has really been the best thing in the world.”
She added: “When you least expect it, you know, you literally meet the perfect person for you, and all those intangibles come into play… and then you meet the right person.”
Lawrence and Cope tied the knot in May 2022 at the Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, California. Among those in attendance were the actor’s brothers, Matthew Lawrence, 44, and Andrew Lawrence, 36.
At that time, Cope said People that her courtship with Lawrence was quick: ‘From day one, it was such a safe place to be myself… two weeks later, I thought: ‘I’ll be with you forever.'”
In court documents, according to TMZ, Cope requested full custody of Dylan and noted that he would allow his daughter to spend two nights a week at her father’s house when she turns three in January 2026.
Cope added: “When you meet the right person, if you’re lucky, it all comes right down to it. I have someone who thinks like me and has the same love language, and we communicate in the same way. That’s very important. And I’m very grateful.”
Cope alluded to potential problems in the relationship with a June 11 post she published on Instagram that read, “Not everything you lose is a loss,” attached to a slideshow that did not include photos of Lawrence.
Lawrence has worked in Hollywood for decades, starting out as a child star appearing on shows such as Gimme a Break! from 1983 to 1987; Blossom from 1990 to 1995; Brotherly Love from 1995 to 1997; and Melissa & Joey from 2010 to 2015.
Cope’s credits include television shows such as HBO’s Insecure, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Rizzoli & Isles; and films such as 2020’s Revenge for Daddy, 2021’s An Organized Killer, and 2022’s Love at the Christmas Contest.
