The actor was pretty somber as he reluctantly addressed the drama surrounding his current divorce from Samantha Cope, who he's been married to for the past 2 years.

Samantha filed for divorce earlier this month ... listing June as their separation date... and asking for sole physical custody of their baby daughter.

He shared this process has been a private journey, and none of the details should have been shared publicly -- though he clarifies "so many things are just not true" about recent media reports.

Joey's upset with himself for giving up control of his personal life over the last several years -- obviously referring to his time with Samantha -- and he's sad his daughters have been dragged into the drama.

JL insinuated he's upset about recent social media posts by Samantha that included their young daughter.

He noted he's proud he had a very successful marriage for 15 years with his first wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson, the mother of his 2 older daughters, who are 18 and 14 -- saying he and Chandie are still good friends

Joey posted on IG yesterday, saying outright that a major contributor to his split from Samantha stems from her not being willing or able to fully accept the 2 older daughters.

Affair rumors were stoked again this week -- especially after video obtained by TMZ showed him flirtatiously dancing with his "Socked in for Christmas" co-star, Melina Alves ... filmed a week after Samantha's listed separation date back in June.