NEWSNaya Rivera's Ex Ryan Dorsey Reveals Their Son Witnessed 'Glee' Star's Tragic 'Last Moments': 'He Feels Like He Could Have Saved Her'
Naya Rivera was known for her role on 'Glee.'
Nearly five years after Naya Rivera tragically drowned, her former husband Ryan Dorsey opened up on how her death has affected their 9-year-old son.
"I treat him differently than I would a normal kid because of what he’s been through," Dorsey shared. "For me, it’s not a big deal if he hears a bad word or if he sees someone get killed on TV. I don’t know if that’s a bad way to go about raising him, but it is the cards we were dealt."
Naya Rivera died at 33 years old.
On July 8, 2020, 4-year-old Josey watched his mother drown while she was swimming in Lake Piru in California. He was later found asleep all alone on the rental boat, resulting in a five-day search for Rivera.
"He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore," Dorsey recalled of his son's memories of that fateful day. "It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments."
Ryan Dorsey and Naya Rivera's son Josey is nine years old.
"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 added. "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," he continued. "I think she just got caught up in a brush — that or a weird undercurrent from the dam. It was just a freak occurrence."
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Naya Rivera drowned while swimming in Lake Piru.
Despite having to witness the heartbreaking event, Dorsey revealed Josey is "such a happy kid."
"He’s definitely his mama’s son, because when he doesn’t get the answer he wants, he keeps talking," he revealed. "He likes to talk, and that's mama for sure."
Ryan Dorsey had an on and off relationship with Naya Rivera prior to their 2014 wedding.
He also shared he made a "book of memories" that sits by Josey's bed.
"During the holidays he was crying looking at it," Dorsey admitted. "You can only give him a hug and tell him, 'I know, life is not fair. Bad things happen and there's no reason for it, and you just have to do your best to be a good person.'"
Dorsey spoke with People about Rivera's death.
