Actor Ryan Dorsey has shared how his 9-year-old son, Josey, is coping nearly five years after his mother, “Glee” star Naya Rivera, tragically drowned in a California lake while out boating.
Josey, who was 4 at the time, accompanied his mother on the trip and witnessed the tragedy.
During a Feb. 12 interview with People, Dorsey, 41, said his son still feels guilt over being unable to save his mother.
“Something he’s said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it,” Dorsey recounted.
“I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.’”
Rivera drowned in the waters of Lake Piru in Ventura County on July 8, 2020. She was 33.
“Josey, who was closer, managed to get back on the boat on his own volition and braced himself on the boat, which was rocking back and forth forcefully in the current and wind,” the complaint reads.
Dorsey told People that the last thing Josey recalled hearing was his mother calling out his name.
“And then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore,” Dorsey said.
“It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments.”
The complaint states that Josey cried alone on the boat for more than an hour before he was found. Authorities recovered Rivera’s body five days later in a section of the lake that was 25 to 30 feet deep.
“If we’d have lost both Naya and Josey, I don’t know how I would continue on with my life,” Dorsey told People.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have been good.”
‘Love You Forever’
Dorsey and Rivera married in July 2014 before welcoming their son in September of the following year. The couple went on to divorce in 2018, citing irreconcilable differences.The actress shared a touching tribute to her son on his 4th birthday.
Dorsey, known for his roles on television shows such as “Justified,” “Ray Donovan,” and “Yellowstone,” told E! News in March 2023 that his son had developed a growing curiosity about his mother.
“He’s never going to forget his Mom,” the actor said. “He’s interested in watching things and looking at her work one day. That stuff will speak for itself and he'll really get to appreciate the impact she had on people and how talented she was and who his Mom was on the outside, not just in his home life.”
Rivera landed her first onscreen role in 1991, starring in the CBS sitcom “The Royal Family.”
Her subsequent television show credits include “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Family Matters,” “The Sinbad Show,” “Baywatch,” “Even Stevens,” “8 Simple Rules,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Girlfriends,” and “CSI: Miami,” among others.
In 2009, Rivera landed her breakout role on the Fox musical series “Glee.” Her performance in the show, which aired until 2015, garnered her numerous accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2010.
She went on to appear in the television series “Devious Maids” and “Step Up: High Water,” as well as the 2017 comedy film “Mad Families,” starring Charlie Sheen and David Spade.
On Jan. 12, Dorsey wished Rivera a “happy heavenly birthday” on Instagram on what would have been her 38th birthday.
“If you’re reading this, be kind to the ones you love. You’ll never know when you give your last hug.”
