How Joey Lawrence Lost So Much Of His Money

Joey Lawrence was a '90s heartthrob who rose to fame when he starred in the hit series "Blossom" for five years. He has since acted in "Brotherly Love" and had several small roles before making his television comeback with "Melissa & Joey" in 2010. When asked about his on-screen chemistry with his real-life friend, Melissa Joan Hart, Lawrence shared with Movie Web, "Well, you know that's why we get paid the big bucks there. It's just all part of the job when you have to play certain characters." He added, "I associate it to just putting myself into Joe Longo's world and he's attracted to her, therefore, I am as well as Joe Longo."

Unfortunately, after four seasons, "Melissa & Joey" got canceled. According to the network, the decision was made because the main characters had gotten married and were looking to start a family, so their storyline seemed over, per Deadline. With the series ending, Lawrence was no longer receiving the "big bucks" and he was soon in dire financial straits.

Joey Lawrence had a pretty cushy job at "Melissa & Joey" but after the show got canceled, he got into some massive debt. As reported by The Blast, Joey and his then-wife Chandie Lawrence filed for bankruptcy in 2017, claiming that their monthly expenses were over $25,000, leaving them $18,000 in the hole. They also owed $88,000 in back taxes and had a credit card debt of $132,000. According to the documents, the actor was making $534,000 in 2015 during his last season of "Melissa & Joey" but earned only $58,000 the following year. To make ends meet, Joey and Chandie sold off their personal items online and in consignment stores.

In 2016, Joey's bankruptcy case was finalized and the trustee handling the legal matter was able to collect over $52,000, per The Blast. However, many of the creditors received none of the money they were owed and the IRS only got $31,000 of the $67,000 of the taxes owed, while the state of California only received about $7,000 of the $14,000 owed. While it seemed like troubles were finally behind Joey and his wife, the couple parted ways four years later after 15 years of marriage.

As if dealing with bankruptcy wasn't hard enough for Joey Lawrence, the actor faced another hardship in 2020 when he and his wife Chandie Lawrence filed for divorce. As reported by ET, Joey filed on July 14 in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. Joey asked for joint physical and legal custody of their two daughters, Charleston and Liberty. The two asked the courts to terminate the power to award alimony to each other. In the documents filed by Chandie, she also requested that their assets be divided through a mediator and that all attorney's fees be paid by Joey.

The former couple finalized their divorce in 2022 and reached a private agreement on alimony and child support, as reported by Us Weekly. They were awarded joint legal custody of their daughters. As for the reason for their split, Joey didn't make mention of their previous financial woes but shared, "It's just two people that aren't right for each other. Nothing was done wrong, other than just falling out of love with that person. You want them to be happy, and you want to be happy." The "Splash" host is now married to Samantha Cope and according to Celebrity Net Worth, is worth $250,000, so he seems to be doing just fine.