As Joey Lawrence navigates his current divorce from Samantha Cope, he is reflecting on how he and ex Chandie Yawn-Nelson handled their split.
“You know, I actually had a very successful marriage for 15 years to the mother of my two older daughters,” Lawrence, 48, recalled during the Friday, August 30, episode of his “Brotherly Love” podcast. “We grew apart in certain ways and we knew, ultimately, that growing old together was not going to be in each other’s best interests.”
Lawrence and high school sweetheart Yawn-Nelson, 48, were married between 2002 and 2020; their divorce was finalized two years after their split. They share daughters Charleston, 18, and Liberty, 14.
“We had a very good marriage and, to this day, we’re very good friends,” Joey told brothers Matthew and Andy Lawrence on their joint podcast. “We always put our children first. That’s a testament and I’m proud of that.”
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He continued, “I literally do everything I can for my family. I always have, and for my daughters especially. It’s the greatest honor that I have. I’ve been doing this 43 years, and despite the fact that I’ve been in the public eye for a long time, I’m actually a pretty private person.”
Joey’s penchant for privacy impacted his decision to primarily keep his relationships with Charleston and Liberty away from the public eye.
“That’s what I feel is best [and] I’ve been able to let my two older daughters grow up, for the most part, not in the spotlight,” the Blossom alum said. “I’ve let them do their own thing and I’m so proud of them because of that.”
Joey further gushed that Charleston and Liberty are “awesome, really great girls” and are thriving in their personal and educational lives.
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“Charlie is just exploding at college and Libby is exploding as a freshman in high school,” Joey said. “We were able to keep it private and I really respect Chandie for doing that, and I know she respects me for doing that.”
Joey also hopes Yawn-Nelson is “truly happy” in her own life.
“I want her to be truly happy and I want to be happy,” he said. “We were able to make each other happy to a certain extent as we grew because we met when we were so young, but not ultimately. But, she’s a great lady and I’m proud of what we did together.”
After Joey and Yawn-Nelson separated, he said on Friday that he quickly jumped into a relationship with Cope, 37.
“I loved the idea of relationships so much that, even in a weakened state, fell into a committed relationship [but] I wasn’t ready for that,” Joey explained. “The ideologies there did not line up and, therefore, I gave away and compromised my own personal beliefs that I had lived by my whole life.”
Joey and Cope got married in 2022, one year before welcoming daughter Dylan. News broke earlier this month that Cope filed for divorce, requesting sole custody of the 19-month-old.
At the same time, Joey was accused of infidelity, which he denied. In a Thursday, August 29, Instagram statement, Joey cited the breakdown of his marriage to Cope allegedly refusing to accept Charleston and Liberty. Cope has refuted the claims.
