Ryan Dorsey, the father of Naya Rivera’s son, has shared for the first time that their son who was four-years-old when his mum passed away, remembers the day she died and even feels responsible for the tragic event.
On the five-year anniversary of Naya’s passing, her former husband, actor Ryan Dorsey, opened up with new, poignant details about Naya’s last moments as told by their son to him.
The Glee star tragically drowned in a California lake back in July 2020, with only her and young Josey present. Authorities had previously expressed hope that Josey would not recall the incident, the Mirror reports.
Talking to People magazine, 41-year-old Ryan recounted that Naya’s final words were calling out her son’s name before disappearing underwater; Josey did not see her again after that.
Despite his young age at the time, Josey has heartbreakingly remembered and spoken about the day he lost his mother. He has mentioned to his dad how he was hesitant to join Naya for a swim because of the windy conditions on that fateful day.
When Naya realised their rented boat, which lacked an anchor or flotation aids, was drifting away, she instructed Josey to swim back to it. The little boy recalls clinging to “the tanks” and manoeuvring himself “around the boat to hop on”, reports the Mirror.
After clambering back onto the vessel, Josey tried to find something to aid his mother. Although he found a rope, the child was “too scared” to throw it to Naya due to a “big spider” that was on it.
Ryan shared: “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.
“I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.’ That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her. I think she just got caught up in a brush – that or a weird undercurrent from the dam. It was just a freak occurrence.”
Ryan added: “It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments. He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore.”
The actress was reported missing after Josey was found alone on the boat on Lake Piru in Southern California. The Ventura County Sheriff’s department responded to a call from a fellow boater who had noticed a vessel drifting at the reservoir.
At around 1pm that day Naya had rented a pontoon to take her young son out on the waters of the national park. Josey was wearing a life jacket but Naya’s life jacket was still in the boat.
After Naya’s disappearance was reported, a mass search mission was launched with a team involving helicopters, divers and drones deployed to the lake to search for the star. Captain Eric Buschow, of the sheriff’s department, said: “There’s a lot of challenges in a reservoir this size, at times with visibility.”
He stated: “We’re going on the belief that she did go in the water, and we’ve not been able to locate her. This may well be a case of drowning. This is a big reservoir, it’s deep, these kinds of things happen. We don’t know all the circumstances. Investigators are working on that, getting as much information as possible.”
As darkness descended on the first day, the search was halted until “first light” the next day. After the search was suspended, over 10,000 people signed a petition urging authorities to continue the search.
After days of searching, the Ventura County Sheriff’s department confirmed a body had been discovered in the lake and later that day confirmed it was Naya. Speaking to reporters shortly after the body was found, Captain Buschow said: “This is an area we’ve been searching really hard because we believe that’s where she was last seen in the water. “
According to TMZ, Josey’s chilling words to authorities were that his mother had “jumped into the water but didn’t come back up”. The day before the tragic boat outing, Naya posted her final photograph to Instagram – a photo of her cuddled up to Josey with the caption: “Just the two of us.”
Naya shared custody of her son with her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, who she divorced in 2018. She gained fame in Fox’s Glee, in which she played cheerleader Santana Lopez between 2009 and 2015.
Following her standout performance, Naya secured a deal with Columbia Records and dropped the single ‘Sorry’ in 2013 featuring rapper Big Sean.
She also boasts a number of film credits, including ‘At the Devil’s Door’. In 2016, she published her memoir ‘Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up’.
As news of Naya’s disappearance spread, her Glee co-stars expressed their concern on social media. Harry Shum Jr., who played Mike Chang, posted: “Praying”. Iqbal Theba, known for his role as Principal Figgins, shared a news link about Naya, commenting: “Oh God… mercy… please…”
Heather Morris, aka Brittany S. Pierce, took to Instagram pleading: “We need all the prayers we can get to bring our Naya back home to us. We need your love and light.”