Speaking out. Naya Rivera’s ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, broke his silence after the Glee star died at the age of 33 in Lake Piru, California, after she was reported missing earlier this month.
“This is so unfair…there’s not enough words to express the hole left in everyone’s hearts,” he captioned a photo of Rivera and the couple’s son, Josey, 4, on Instagram on Saturday, July 25. “I can’t believe this is life now. I don’t know if I’ll ever believe it. You were just here… We were just in the back swimming with Josey the day before. Life just isn’t fair. I don’t know what to say…”
“I’m thankful for our times and our journey that brought us together and gave us the sweetest and kindest smart little boy we could ever hope for,” he continued. “I remember sometimes you used to get annoyed at me: ‘Ryan can you stop snap chatting!’ Haha. I’m glad I didn’t listen to you because I have hundreds and probably thousands of snaps and videos that Josey will have forever and know his momma loved him more than life, and how much fun we had together as he was growing up. Life is all about good times and bad times but with Josey it makes the bad a little less so because a part of you will always be with us. He’ll never forget where he came from. We miss you. We will always love you. Love you Meep. 🖤 🖤”
Dorsey also thanked “everyone that reached out” for the “overwhelming love and support you’ve sent our way.”
“I’ll just say in closing, be kind to yourself, be kind to others, forgive…forget…don’t hold grudges….if you have nothing nice to say maybe try not to say anything. There’s peace in silence,” he concluded. “Time on Earth is precious and you just never know….you never know what could happen. Hold your loved ones close, and cherish the times you have with those you care about. ♥️”
Us Weekly confirmed on July 8 that the 33-year-old actress was missing after she did not return the motorized pontoon boat she rented with Josey at Lake Piru near Los Angeles.
“It is believed that Naya and her son were swimming in the lake near the boat and as they were getting back into the boat, her son made it into the boat and Naya went underwater and did not resurface,” the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department told Us at the time. Josey, meanwhile, was found safe on the boat.
“He’s in good health,” Captain Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department told reporters of the 4-year-old. “The family is going through a very traumatic time right now.”
As the search for Rivera continued, Dorsey was spotted with Josey at her sister Nickayla’s L.A. home on Thursday, July 9. Days later, the Justified actor was seen at the lake with Rivera’s family.
Authorities confirmed on July 13 that the Step Up: High Water star drowned in the lake.
Rivera and Dorsey quietly exchanged vows in 2014, months after she called off her engagement to Big Sean. While the pair, who welcomed Josey in 2015, called it quits in November 2016, they later reconciled. Rivera filed for divorce for the second time in December 2017. The paperwork was finalized the following June.
“It definitely was a juggling act, but it was good,” Rivera told Us about balancing work and motherhood in 2019. “In our business, [families] are something that you always have to … work around.”
