Joey Lawrence Is ‘Thankful’ to Have a ‘Second Chance’ with Wife Samantha Cope After Making ‘Terrible Mistakes’

Joey Lawrence is owning up to his “mistakes” after reconciling with his wife Samantha Cope.

The actor, 48, announced his reconciliation with Cope, 37, on Dec. 4 via Instagram, and is now opening up about how “thankful” he is to have their relationship back on track after she filed for divorce in August.

“I’m very thankful. It’s been great. You know, you make some terrible mistakes and it just feels great to have a second chance to get everything right,” Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight. “So I love her to death and I’m very thankful.”

Related: Joey Lawrence and Samantha Share Cozy Christmas Photo with Daughter Dylan After Apparent Reconciliation

Admitting it was “brutal” to work through their relationship issues so publicly — a source told PEOPLE in August that Lawrence allegedly had an affair with costar Melina Alves which prompted the split — the Melissa & Joey star said he made “some serious mistakes” with Cope.

“You don’t handle things correctly and there’s a lot of pressure and like I said, going through it publicly doesn’t make it any easier,” he told the outlet.

Lawrence previously denied having an affair with Alves, writing in a statement on Instagram in August, “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.”

In a statement on Aug. 28, Alves said the pair’s relationship began as a “meaningful friendship” on Socked in for Christmas and denied having any “sexual relationship” with Lawrence at the time.

During Lawrence’s recent interview he talked about making “bad decisions.”

“And then you make some more bad decisions… And at the end of the day, life is what happens outside of the cameras. And when your heart is hurting, just to have an opportunity to get it right this time with her… I’m really thankful. She’s amazing and I love her to death.”

Lawrence also said that he now knows he has to “put your wife first” but admitted, “There’s a lot of things that come into play that just make it very difficult to do that.”

Related: Samantha Cope Addresses ‘Deeply Troubling’ Statement Made By Ex Joey Lawrence amid Divorce

Earlier this month, Cope officially dismissed her August divorce filing. She signed the entry of dismissal on Dec. 1, served a copy of the filing to Lawrence on Dec. 5, and on Dec. 10, the dismissal was filed by the Superior Court of California in L.A., according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Following Lawrence’s reunion with Cope, Alves told PEOPLE the reconciliation “came as a surprise.”

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“While these situations are always multifaceted, I’d like to keep the details of it and my friendship with Joey private,” Alves said in a statement, “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.”

Read the original article on People