Joey Lawrence has announced his engagement to fellow actor Samantha Cope after nearly a year of dating.
The former "Blossom" star revealed the happy news during an interview with Us Weekly, calling his bride-to-be "the best person ever." TODAY has confirmed the couple's engagement.
Lawrence, 45, and Cope, 34, met on the set of an upcoming Lifetime movie directed by Lawrence's brother Andrew Lawrence, and have been dating for the past 11 months.
“So we met there and out of nowhere, you know, it was a crazy year and a half for everybody, obviously the whole world,” Joey Lawrence explained. “Then when you least expect (it), amazing things happen and meeting her has just been really the greatest thing ever.”
Lawrence said he and the "Insecure" alum met at the perfect time — though getting to know each other during a pandemic proved tricky.
“It’s cool to be this age and have that happen because all the pretense is gone and you’re not playing games,” he said. “And there was no way to wine and dine anybody (because) we couldn’t go anywhere.
"So we were literally saying we’d been together like 11 months and it’s we saw one movie, literally one, and we’ve been out to dinner five times ... It was just hanging out, trapped in that, you know, confined space. And when you can meet the greatest person for you in that kind of environment, it’s saying something," added the actor, whose upcoming movie "Swim," premieres Aug. 13 on the streaming service Tubi.
The former "Brotherly Love" star said he and Cope are now in the midst of planning their wedding.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on, you know, there’s a lot of stuff going on, which we’ll talk about soon, but yeah, it’s a lot of great stuff,” he said. “A lot of really great stuff. She’s the best person ever.”
Just last month on Instagram, Cope shared "an appreciation post" about her fiancé.
"Life is so full of blessings but also little unpredictable battles. I can’t thank you enough for staying positive even in the toughest of times. You’re my fav babe," Cope wrote alongside a selfie of the pair.
Lawrence responded by telling Cope how much he appreciated her.
"Babe... you are an incredible pillar of strength love and kindness and continue to amaze me everyday," he wrote in the comments of Cope's post. "Life certainly is a bumpy and unpredictable ride ...but knowing the rest of my ride will be with you — makes it all worth it. And you are indeed my fave babe. #gratitude 🤍."
Lawrence's engagement news comes a little more than a year after he filed for divorce from his wife of 15 years, Chandie Yawn-Nelson. The former couple share two daughters, Charleston, 15, and Liberty, 11. Lawrence was also previously married to Michelle Vella from 2002 until 2005.
