The Lawrence Brothers Reveal One Way Their Parents Kept Them Humble Amid Child Stardom
The real-life brothers previously starred as the fictional Roman brothers on 'Brotherly Love', which aired from 1995 to 1997
The Lawrence brothers brought a major family reunion moment to 90s Con in Daytona.
On Friday, Sept. 13, Joey, Matthew and Andrew Lawrence reunited for a panel, moderated by PEOPLE's Dory Jackson, in which they discussed their close bond and their former sitcom, Brotherly Love.
Speaking to growing up in the spotlight — Joey was performing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson when he was just 6 years old — the brothers credited their stability to "the family unit."
"Our parents are great," Joey said. "We had our grandparents with us a lot and we really had a large group that was constantly traveling and insulating and made it about the work. The work was primarily a hobby, treated like travel baseball or sports for a lot of kids. It was never life."
Joey continued on how his mom maintained a sense of normalcy for the trio.
"She kept me enrolled in my private school back in Philly. When Andy was born she took Matt and I out of the business for three years," he continued. "It was always a hobby, never our lives. Our life we lived. That perspective really kept the perspective right for us so the successes and failures never predicated our success and failure as a human being. We had those, but it never had to do with the business. That was paramount in us being able to navigate."
To that end, despite their fame, Matthew and Joey actually shared a room until the latter was 16 — complete with bunk beds.
Related: From 'Brotherly Love' to Growing Up: Where Are the Lawrence Brothers Now?
"I think Joe had enough when I convinced my mom to get a dog and the dog was in the room sleeping with me," Matthew said with a laugh.
"There were other things, too," Joey added. "I was 16! I needed to have a little space."
Brotherly Love featured the trio playing the fictional Roman brothers. In the series, the family's eldest brother returns to help run the family business following their father's death. It premiered on NBC in 1995, where it ran for one season, before moving to The WB (now The CW) for its final season.
Despite its brief run, the real-life siblings' star continued to rise thereafter — and they recently teamed up again to host a Brotherly Love podcast, which launched last year.
Related: Whoa! Joey Lawrence Is 48: 18 Photos That Will Take You Back to His '90s Heartthrob Heyday
Prior to his run on the sitcom with his younger brothers, Joey, now 48, starred on Blossom, and after, his own show with Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa & Joey.
In the weeks before his 90s Con appearance, he and his wife Samantha Cope split up, with the actress filing for divorce on Aug. 20, though she cited their date of separation as June 7.
Days later, he responded to the "allegations" of infidelity he was facing in a statement on Instagram, vehemently denying claims he had an affair with his Socked in for Christmas costar Melina Alves as he called his marriage to Cope, 37, "deeply troubled."
"I was clinging to hope that I could save a relationship that, in my heart, I knew was beyond saving. My short-lived marriage was fraught with difficulties from the beginning. Our differences became insurmountable."
He then claimed that his older two daughters, Charleston, 18, and Liberty, 14, whom he shares with his ex-wife Chandie Yawn-Nelson, were not going to be "accepted" by Cope as "part of my family," and he said that realization "played a significant role in the breakdown of my relationship."
She responded to his statement, saying in her own statement shared with PEOPLE, "As a mother who values her daughter above all else, I find these false accusations deeply troubling. I am confident that the truth is known to me, to Joey, and to God."
90s Con marked Joey's first public appearance since the divorce.
As for his brothers, Matthew, now 44, went on to star in Mrs. Doubtfire and Boy Meets World as Rider Strong's on-screen brother, Jack Hunter.
Like Joey, Matthew has also gone through a recent divorce, having split from Dancing with the Stars' Cheryl Burke in 2022 after three years of marriage. He is now dating TLC's Rozonda "Chili" Thomas.
The youngest of the brothers, Andrew, who is now 36, also pursued acting like his older brothers, starring in Hawaii Five-O and Disney Channel's Recess, among other works.
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In 2022, Joey spoke to PEOPLE about his family's enduring fame as he said he looks back on their Brotherly Love days "fondly."
"Those fans are still there. They're just in their mid-30s now," he said. "It's been a crazy trajectory. You go through ups and downs, but 41 years later and having the kind of opportunities and still having a lot of room to grow and a lot of things that I have yet to accomplish, and I'm really driven to get there."
90s Con Florida is occurring through Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
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