Chandie Yawn-Nelson: Inside Joey Lawrence’s Disney Love Story, 15-Year Marriage, Two Daughters, and Life After Divorce

Chandie Yawn-Nelson

Sometimes a love story begins in the most unexpected place. Chandie Yawn-Nelson first met actor Joey Lawrence at Walt Disney World when they were teenagers. Years passed, their lives moved in different directions, and Joey even married someone else. Then they found each other again. Their second chance led them back to Disney World for a wedding, two daughters, and a marriage that lasted about 15 years. Today, Chandie lives much more quietly, while Joey has openly praised the friendship and co-parenting bond they created after their divorce.

Who Is Chandie Yawn-Nelson?

Chandie Yawn-Nelson is best known as the former wife of American actor and singer Joey Lawrence.

But her story with Joey started long before their marriage.

They first met when they were teenagers during a visit to Walt Disney World in Florida.

At the time, neither could have known that the place where they met would later become the place where they got married.

Chandie never built a major Hollywood career of her own.

Even during her marriage to a famous actor, she usually stayed away from constant celebrity attention.

That is one reason people remain curious about her.

How Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson Meet Joey Lawrence?

Chandie and Joey met at Walt Disney World when they were teenagers.

Joey was already familiar with entertainment at a young age.

He had been acting since childhood and became known through shows such as Gimme a Break! and later Blossom.

But their teenage meeting did not immediately become a lifelong relationship.

They went their separate ways.

Life continued.

Years later, they reconnected.

That second meeting changed everything.

Did Chandie and Joey Date as Teenagers?

Their first connection happened when they were young, but they did not immediately build the long adult relationship that eventually led to marriage.

They moved on with their separate lives.

Joey’s acting career continued to grow.

He became one of the familiar television faces of the 1990s.

He also entered another serious relationship and later married Michelle Vella.

That marriage did not last.

After it ended, Joey and Chandie eventually found their way back to each other.

It sounds almost like a movie plot.

Two teenagers meet at Disney World.

Years pass.

Then they reconnect as adults and decide to build a life together.

Who Is Joey Lawrence?

Joey Lawrence is an American actor, singer, television personality, and former child star.

He was born on April 20, 1976.

Joey began working in entertainment when he was very young.

He appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as a child and later became a regular on the sitcom Gimme a Break!

His popularity grew even more through Blossom.

On that show, he played Joey Russo and became known for the catchphrase “Whoa!”

He later appeared with his real-life brothers Matthew and Andrew Lawrence in Brotherly Love.

His other major television work includes Melissa & Joey, Dancing with the Stars, and Celebrity Big Brother.

Chandie therefore entered a relationship with someone who had been famous for much of his life.

Was Chandie Yawn-Nelson Joey Lawrence’s First Wife?

No.

Chandie was Joey Lawrence’s second wife.

Before marrying Chandie, Joey was married to Michelle Vella.

Joey and Michelle married in 2002.

Their marriage ended a few years later.

After that relationship was over, Joey reconnected with Chandie.

They became serious quickly and eventually decided to marry.

When Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson Marry Joey Lawrence?

Chandie and Joey married in July 2005.

Several records give July 3, 2005, as their wedding date.

The location made the wedding especially meaningful.

They married at Walt Disney World.

Yes, the same place where they had originally met as teenagers.

That gave their relationship a full-circle feeling.

The place where their story began became the place where they officially became husband and wife.

Where Did Chandie and Joey Lawrence Get Married?

Their wedding took place at Walt Disney World in Florida.

For many couples, Disney World is simply a holiday destination.

For Chandie and Joey, it represented something much more personal.

They had first crossed paths there as teenagers.

Years later, after living separate lives, they returned there as adults to marry.

That detail has become one of the most memorable parts of their love story.

How Long Were Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence Married?

Chandie and Joey were married for roughly 15 years before Joey filed for divorce in July 2020.

Their legal divorce was not completed immediately.

The final judgment came in February 2022.

This is why different websites give slightly different lengths for their marriage.

Let’s understand this simply.

They married in 2005.

They separated and Joey filed for divorce in 2020.

Their divorce officially became final in 2022.

So their relationship as a married couple had effectively ended after around 15 years, even though they remained legally married while the divorce process continued.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence Have Children?

Yes.

Chandie and Joey have two daughters together.

Their older daughter is Charleston Lawrence, often called Charli.

Their younger daughter is Liberty Grace Lawrence, often called Libby.

Both daughters were born during the couple’s marriage.

Joey has spoken publicly many times about how important his children are to him.

Even after his marriage to Chandie ended, their daughters remained the strongest connection between them.

Who Is Charleston Lawrence?

Charleston “Charli” Lawrence is the older daughter of Joey Lawrence and Chandie Yawn-Nelson.

She was born in May 2006.

That means she grew up while her father’s acting and television career continued.

Charli has appeared at selected public events with her parents.

She has also had some exposure to entertainment through her father’s work.

However, she should still be treated with respect as a young adult rather than having every part of her private life discussed publicly.

Having a famous father does not mean every personal detail needs to become entertainment news.

Who Is Liberty Grace Lawrence?

Liberty Grace Lawrence is Chandie and Joey’s younger daughter.

She was born in March 2010.

Her arrival came with a frightening medical experience for the family.

Joey later shared that Liberty needed a partial blood transfusion after birth and spent around two and a half weeks in an incubator.

He described the beginning as extremely difficult for the family.

Thankfully, Liberty recovered.

Joey later spoke warmly about how Charleston became a caring older sister.

The story gives a more personal look at Chandie and Joey’s years as parents together.

Was Liberty Lawrence Sick When She Was Born?

Liberty experienced health problems shortly after birth.

According to Joey’s public comments at the time, she needed medical treatment, including a partial blood transfusion.

She also spent time in an incubator.

For any parent, that would be frightening.

The family had to wait while medical professionals cared for their newborn daughter.

Liberty later recovered.

There is no reason to turn those childhood medical details into ongoing speculation about her health today.

What Was Chandie Yawn-Nelson Like as a Mother?

Chandie does not regularly give interviews about motherhood.

So it would be wrong to invent details about her parenting style.

What is clear is that she and Joey raised two daughters together during their long marriage.

After the divorce, they also built a co-parenting relationship focused on their children.

Joey has publicly praised the way he and Chandie handled that responsibility.

That may tell us more than any dramatic celebrity story.

Their marriage ended.

Their job as parents did not.

Why Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence Divorce?

Joey filed for divorce in July 2020.

The legal reason was irreconcilable differences.

Many readers naturally want to know if there was cheating, a huge argument, or another dramatic reason.

Joey later gave a much simpler explanation.

He said they had grown apart and were no longer right for each other as a couple.

He also made clear that he did not believe either person needed to be treated as the villain.

Sometimes relationships simply change.

That appears to be how Joey has publicly described the end of his marriage to Chandie.

Did Anyone Cheat in Chandie and Joey’s Marriage?

There is no reliable basis for saying cheating caused the breakup between Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence.

Joey has publicly described the separation as two people growing apart.

He said that nothing major had to be done “wrong” for a relationship to stop working.

That is important.

Celebrity divorces often attract rumors because dramatic stories get more attention.

But there is no need to create a cheating story where the people involved have not confirmed one.

When Did Joey Lawrence File for Divorce?

Joey filed for divorce in July 2020.

He filed in Los Angeles after about 15 years of marriage.

The couple had two minor daughters at the time.

The divorce did not become final until February 2022.

That gap sometimes creates confusion online.

Some pages say they divorced in 2020.

Others say 2022.

The correct explanation is simple.

The breakup and filing happened in 2020.

The legal divorce was finalized in 2022.

When Was Chandie Yawn-Nelson’s Divorce Finalized?

The divorce judgment was filed on February 16, 2022.

The former couple reached a private settlement.

That settlement dealt with matters including finances, property, spousal support, and child support.

The full details were not made public.

This is important because some websites claim to know exactly how much money Chandie received.

Those claims should be treated carefully.

The settlement was private.

Who Got Custody of Chandie and Joey’s Daughters?

Chandie and Joey agreed to share joint legal custody of Charleston and Liberty.

The exact family arrangements should not be treated like celebrity entertainment.

What matters is that both parents remained involved.

Joey later made it very clear that putting his daughters first was important to him.

He also said that refusing to get along with Chandie after the divorce would have been unfair to their children.

That approach appears to have helped them create a healthier relationship after their marriage ended.

Are Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence Still Friends?

Surprisingly, yes, according to Joey.

Years after their separation, Joey spoke very positively about Chandie.

In 2024, while discussing relationships on his Brotherly Love podcast, he described their marriage as a successful one that had simply reached its end.

He also said they had become very good friends.

This is one of the more interesting parts of their story.

They did not stay married.

But they managed to build another type of relationship afterward.

For their daughters, that may have been far healthier than years of public fighting.

What Has Joey Lawrence Said About Co-Parenting With Chandie?

Joey has spoken proudly about the way he and Chandie raise their daughters after divorce.

His message has been simple.

Put the children first.

He has said that parents should take the high road and remain kind even when their romantic relationship does not work.

In 2024, he again looked back positively at the way he and Chandie handled their separation.

He described them as friends and emphasized the importance of their daughters.

That is a very different story from many celebrity divorces.

Why Is Their Co-Parenting Story Important?

Divorce can be difficult for children.

When parents continue fighting publicly, the situation can become even harder.

Chandie and Joey appear to have tried another approach.

They accepted that their marriage no longer worked.

But they also accepted that they would always share two daughters.

That gave them a reason to treat each other with respect.

Think about it like this.

A marriage can end.

Parenthood does not.

That seems to be the idea behind the relationship Chandie and Joey built after divorce.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence Have Financial Problems?

Yes, their finances became public during their marriage.

Reports in 2018 revealed that Joey and Chandie had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2017.

The filing listed substantial liabilities.

Joey’s acting income had reportedly fallen significantly compared with earlier years.

The bankruptcy attracted attention because Joey had been a famous television star for decades.

But celebrity does not always mean someone has unlimited money.

Actors can have very different income levels from one year to another.

The bankruptcy case was later settled in 2018.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson File for Bankruptcy?

The bankruptcy filing involved Joey Lawrence and Chandie Yawn-Nelson while they were married.

Reports said they filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2017.

The case became public the following year.

Their financial problems should not automatically be treated as proof of poor character or irresponsibility.

Income can change.

Expenses can grow.

Families can face financial problems for many reasons.

The public records simply show that bankruptcy became part of their family’s story during the later years of the marriage.

What Is Chandie Yawn-Nelson’s Net Worth?

There is no reliable confirmed figure for Chandie Yawn-Nelson’s current net worth.

This is especially important because of the family’s previously reported bankruptcy.

Some biography websites give Chandie very specific net worth numbers.

But they usually do not explain how those numbers were calculated.

Her current income, savings, investments, property, and financial arrangements are private.

The divorce settlement was also private.

For those reasons, an exact net worth would be speculation.

What Does Chandie Yawn-Nelson Do for a Living?

Chandie’s professional life is not well documented in strong mainstream sources.

One reliable report connected with the divorce described her as an Auburn University graduate.

Beyond that, many websites publish different job titles.

Some call her a businesswoman.

Others give more specific careers.

But these descriptions are often repeated without clear evidence.

Chandie did not build a major public professional brand.

So it is better to say her current occupation is not publicly confirmed rather than invent a career.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson Attend Auburn University?

Public reporting about the former couple has identified Chandie as an Auburn University graduate.

That is one of the more reliable details about her education.

However, information about her exact degree, field of study, and full college experience is not as widely documented.

Again, there is no need to add details simply to make the biography look longer.

A trustworthy article should stop where the reliable information stops.

How Old Is Chandie Yawn-Nelson?

Chandie’s exact birth date is not consistently published by strong major sources.

Reliable reports around the divorce described her as being the same general age as Joey.

For example, reporting in February 2022 listed both Joey and Chandie as 45 years old.

Other websites give exact birthdays, but those dates are not as strongly established.

So it is safer to say Chandie was born around 1976 rather than claim an exact birthday without solid evidence.

As of 2026, she would be around 50 years old.

Is Chandie Yawn-Nelson Still Married?

No.

Her marriage to Joey Lawrence officially ended in February 2022.

There is no widely confirmed public information showing that Chandie has remarried.

That does not necessarily mean she is single.

It simply means her romantic life after Joey is private.

She has not built a public dating profile.

That is perfectly reasonable for someone who is not primarily a celebrity.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson Remarry?

There is no reliable public confirmation that Chandie has remarried since her divorce from Joey.

Many celebrity websites like to fill biography pages with relationship claims.

But Chandie has largely stayed away from public interviews and entertainment news.

Unless she chooses to announce a relationship herself, there is no reason to guess about it.

Who Did Joey Lawrence Marry After Chandie?

After separating from Chandie, Joey began a relationship with actress Samantha Cope.

The two met while working together on a Lifetime movie.

Joey and Samantha became engaged in 2021.

They married in 2022, shortly after his divorce from Chandie became final.

They later welcomed a daughter, Dylan.

Their relationship eventually faced its own public difficulties, although they later reconciled after a divorce filing.

Those later events are part of Joey’s life, not Chandie’s.

Chandie should not be pulled into drama involving relationships that began after her marriage ended.

Does Chandie Yawn-Nelson Use Instagram?

There is no widely recognized verified public Instagram account that has made Chandie into a regular social media personality.

Accounts using her name may exist.

That does not automatically mean they belong to her.

Because Chandie has kept a low profile, readers should be cautious before trusting social media pages claiming to represent her.

Her private lifestyle is very different from Joey’s public entertainment career.

Where Is Chandie Yawn-Nelson Now?

Chandie’s exact daily life in 2026 is largely private.

She remains publicly connected to Joey through their daughters and their co-parenting relationship.

But she does not regularly appear in entertainment interviews.

She has not turned her divorce into a reality show.

She has not built a career around discussing her famous ex-husband.

That tells us something important.

Chandie appears comfortable living outside the celebrity spotlight.

Why Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson Stay So Private?

There is no public interview where Chandie gives one exact reason.

But she has consistently maintained a much lower profile than Joey.

Even during their marriage, most entertainment coverage focused on Joey’s acting and television career rather than Chandie’s personal life.

After the divorce, she became even less visible.

This may simply reflect who she is.

Some people enjoy public attention.

Others do not.

Being married to a celebrity does not automatically mean someone wants to become one.

Why Do People Still Search for Chandie Yawn-Nelson?

Joey Lawrence has been famous for decades.

People who watched Blossom as children still follow his life.

Younger viewers may discover him through newer television projects, reality shows, podcasts, or social media.

Then they become curious about his family.

Who was Joey Lawrence married to for 15 years?

Who is the mother of Charleston and Liberty?

Where is his second wife now?

Those questions lead directly to Chandie Yawn-Nelson.

But once people learn their story, something else becomes interesting.

Their relationship did not end with years of public anger.

Instead, they appear to have built a respectful friendship around their daughters.

What Makes Chandie and Joey’s Story Different?

It has several unusual chapters.

They met as teenagers at Disney World.

They went separate ways.

They reconnected years later.

They returned to Disney World to marry.

They had two daughters.

They experienced financial trouble.

Their marriage eventually ended.

Then, instead of turning their breakup into a public war, they learned how to remain friends and co-parent.

It is not a perfect fairy tale.

In some ways, it is more human than that.

People change.

Relationships change.

Sometimes loving someone can eventually mean accepting that staying married is no longer right.

Final Thoughts

Chandie Yawn-Nelson’s story became public because she married Joey Lawrence, but there is much more to it than simply being a celebrity ex-wife.

She first met Joey at Walt Disney World as a teenager.

Years later, after life had taken them in different directions, they reconnected and returned to Disney World to marry in July 2005.

Their marriage brought two daughters, Charleston and Liberty.

It also brought ordinary family challenges, financial difficulties, and eventually a separation.

Joey filed for divorce in July 2020, and the marriage officially ended in February 2022.

But the most interesting part may be what happened afterward.

Instead of allowing divorce to destroy their family connection, Chandie and Joey focused on their daughters.

Years later, Joey has spoken warmly about Chandie, describing their co-parenting relationship positively and calling her a friend.

Chandie herself remains mostly outside the spotlight.

There is no reliable reason to guess about her current romantic life, personal finances, or daily routine.

What we do know tells a simple story: a teenage Disney meeting became a long marriage, the marriage eventually ended, but the family they created continued.

FAQs About Chandie Yawn-Nelson

Who is Chandie Yawn-Nelson?

Chandie Yawn-Nelson is the former wife of actor and singer Joey Lawrence and the mother of his two older daughters, Charleston and Liberty.

How did Chandie Yawn-Nelson meet Joey Lawrence?

Chandie and Joey first met at Walt Disney World when they were teenagers.

When did Chandie Yawn-Nelson marry Joey Lawrence?

They married in July 2005 at Walt Disney World in Florida.

How long were Chandie and Joey Lawrence married?

They were together as a married couple for about 15 years before Joey filed for divorce in July 2020.

When did Chandie Yawn-Nelson divorce Joey Lawrence?

Their divorce was finalized on February 16, 2022.

Why did Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence divorce?

Joey said they had grown apart and were no longer right for each other. The divorce was based on irreconcilable differences.

Did Joey Lawrence cheat on Chandie Yawn-Nelson?

There is no reliable confirmation that cheating caused their divorce. Joey publicly described the breakup as two people growing apart.

How many children does Chandie Yawn-Nelson have with Joey Lawrence?

They have two daughters together, Charleston “Charli” Lawrence and Liberty Grace Lawrence.

When was Charleston Lawrence born?

Charleston was born in May 2006.

When was Liberty Grace Lawrence born?

Liberty was born in March 2010.

Are Chandie Yawn-Nelson and Joey Lawrence still friends?

Joey has publicly said that he and Chandie developed a strong friendship after their divorce and successfully co-parent their daughters.

Did Chandie and Joey Lawrence file for bankruptcy?

Yes. Reports revealed that the couple filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2017. The case was later settled.

What is Chandie Yawn-Nelson’s net worth?

Her current net worth is not publicly confirmed. Exact numbers published by biography websites should be treated as estimates.

What does Chandie Yawn-Nelson do for a living?

Her current profession is not clearly documented by strong public sources.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson attend college?

Reliable reporting has identified Chandie as an Auburn University graduate.

How old is Chandie Yawn-Nelson?

Reliable reporting indicates she was born around 1976, making her around 50 years old in 2026. Her exact birthday is not consistently confirmed by major sources.

Did Chandie Yawn-Nelson remarry?

There is no widely confirmed public information showing that Chandie remarried after her divorce from Joey Lawrence.

Where is Chandie Yawn-Nelson now?

Chandie keeps her current life largely private. She remains connected to Joey through their two daughters and their co-parenting relationship.

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