The woman who was at the center of affair allegations when Joey Lawrence’s wife Samantha Cope filed for divorce is now speaking out on their reconciliation.
Melina Alves (above right), who wrote and starred in the holiday movie Socked for Christmas with Lawrence, was accused of having an affair with the actor after the pair met on the film. The two were spotted together back in August, one week after Cope announced she and her husband separated; Lawrence and Alves both denied having a sexual relationship at the time.
On Thursday, Lawrence and Cope surprised everyone by announcing their reconciliation on Instagram, less than four months after Cope filed for divorce. Per TMZ, they plan to call off the divorce and are fully back together.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Alves reacted to their reunion.
“While these situations are always multifaceted, I’d like to keep the details of it and my friendship with Joey private,” she told the outlet. “As far as Joey and Sam reuniting and reconciling, it came as a surprise to me as everyone else, and if it’s true, I wish them all the love.”
“I wish them restoration with the relationship with his two older daughters and his wife as that relationship is ever so important,” she added. “And now their sweet girl, Dylan, gets to be raised in a home with both of her parents, surrounded by her sisters, her wonderful and loving grandmother Donna, and the rest of her family and that’s truly beautiful.”
Lawrence and Cope share daughter Dylan, who turns two in January. He also has two daughters — 18-year-old Charleston and Liberty, 14 — who he shares with ex-wife Chandie Yawn-Nelson.
Alves previously addressed affair speculation on Instagram in August.
“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,” she said at the time. “As a private person, it is deeply distressing to see such personal and sensitive issues being discussed so openly and inaccurately.”
“Our relationship was a meaningful friendship that developed naturally due to the many similarities in our personal situations,” she continued. “When I met Joey, I was immediately struck by his kindness, warmth and genuine character. 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.”
She claimed that her marriage to Edward Rider had been “struggling for some time” and said they had been separated since January 2023. Rider accused them of having a sexual relationship in divorce docs.
Lawrence, meanwhile, also addressed the rumors on his own Instagram page.
“With a deep sense of responsibility, I want to respond to the recent allegations surrounding my personal life, including my divorce and the claims of an affair with Melina Alves,” he shared. “Melina and I became close friends and I did not have a physical relationship with her while filming the movie Socked in for Christmas. These rumors are false. Our bond was based on shared experiences and an understanding of the challenges we were both facing in our personal lives.”
“I was clinging to the hope that I could save a relationship that, in my heart, I knew was beyond saving,” he said of his marriage to Cope at the time. “My short-lived marriage was fraught with difficulties from the beginning. Our differences became insurmountable.”
“This has been a multifaceted journey these four [or] five years. Actually, there was a lot of pain in that journey despite public perception and what it looks like [on social],” he said at the time. “Life will move on and we will move through this. And my children will be at the forefront.”
