Who is Joey Lawrence's wife Samantha Cope? All we know about the actress and her tumultuous marriage to child actor

Samantha Cope’s relationship with her husband, Lawrence Mignogna III (better known as Joey Lawrence), has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. The couple, married in 2022, was on the verge of divorce last year before their supposed reconciliation in December.

Samantha Cope is also an actor like Joey Lawrence, who met her on the set of a Lifetime movie, My Husband's Secret Brother (aka A Deadly Deed). The Idaho native is also an animal lover and a pet parent who is among the members of the Big Heart Ranch (BHR) team. According to her bio on the organization’s website,

“Samantha grew up in Idaho with a passion for horses and has since moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. You know the saying, “you can take the girl out of the farm....” well Samantha’s love for animals is what landed her at BIG Heart Ranch.”

It briefly talks about Samantha Cope’s acting work, including appearances in NCIS: Los Angeles, Lifetime’s Revenge for Daddy, Alloy Entertainment’s Private, and HBO’s Insecure. The bio also mentions,

“In her spare time she [Samantha Cope] is certified in equine therapy and spends most of her time working to get dogs out of shelters and working towards the rehabilitation of rescue animals.”

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Samantha Cope reportedly filed for a divorce but later reconciled with her husband, Joey Lawrence

Last year, the 37-year-old actress seemingly parted ways, albeit temporarily, with her husband and Frankie Meets Jack co-star. According to the documents obtained by TMZ, Cope separated from Lawrence in July and filed for divorce next month, seeking sole physical custody of their then-19-month-old daughter, Dylan Rose.

Per the filing, Samantha cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for separation from Joey Lawrence. At that time, the Brotherly Love actor was getting linked with Melina Alves, the Socked In For Christmas writer. Alves’ husband, Edward Rider, accused her of cheating with Lawrence in a July divorce filing, according to TMZ.

Days after the infidelity rumors emerged, Joey Lawrence addressed his separation from Samantha Cope. Instead of reacting to the cheating allegations, the ‘90s teen icon claimed that his estranged wife didn’t accept his daughters from his second marriage. According to Us Weekly, Joey wrote in a currently-deleted Instagram post,

“As a father, my three daughters are my world. They are, and always will be, my top priority. The unraveling of my marriage was tied to my realization that there was no way my two eldest daughters were ever going to be accepted by my wife to be part of my family.”

The Blossom star added.

“I cannot and will not compromise on the love and care that my daughters deserve, and this realization played a significant role in the breakdown of my relationship.”

Joey Lawrence, who has been married thrice, fathered two daughters – Charleston and Liberty – during his second marriage with Chandie Yawn-Nelson.

Four months after filing for divorce, Samantha Cope and Joey Lawrence patched up again. The actress confirmed the reconciliation on Instagram by posting two pictures and writing,

“I am beyond grateful 🤍I am beyond blessed🤍I am galaxies beyond thankful 🤍 My heart is so full ❤️”

A few days later, the court dismissed their divorce filing. Joey spoke to Entertainment Tonight and expressed his gratitude for getting a “second chance” in their relationship,

“We have. No, I’m very thankful, I… Yeah, it’s been great, you know, you make a lot of… you make some… Some terrible mistakes and it just feels great to… you know to have a second chance, to get everything right. So, I love her to death and I’m very thankful for that.”

There hasn’t been much news around the couple, as everything seemingly has returned to normalcy. Joey Lawrence recently made a revelation at the ‘90s Con panel, speaking to People.

He revealed his actual name is Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III. The actor is named after his dad and paternal grandfather, and he uses his middle name as a pseudo-surname. His brothers – Andrew and Matthew Lawrence – have also been using the same surname since their on-screen debuts.