It has been nearly five years since Naya Rivera‘s untimely death. The late Glee star was only 33 when she went missing during a boat ride with her then 4-year-old son, Josey, at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. On July 8, 2020, Rivera’s body was found, and an autopsy report confirmed that she had died from an accidental drowning in the lake. Following the news, Her fellow Glee cast members, along with her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, with whom she shared their son, mourned her passing.
But reminders of Rivera’s death are always present for Dorsey and his son. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the actor shared that Josey, now 9 years old, still struggles with feelings of guilt over not being able 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 recalled. “I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.’”
Despite the challenges of dealing with the loss, Dorsey is also grateful for having his son, who he says resembles so much of his mother.
Read on to learn more about the actress who rose to international fame on the beloved, Emmy-winning series.
Rivera grew up in the Valencia area of Santa Clarita, California, where she was thrust into the spotlight at the tender age of 4. Her first big break was on the short-lived early 90’s sitcom The Royal Family which costarred television legends Della Reese and Jackee Harry. Harry tweeted a clip from the show of her and Rivera acting together after she disappeared while asking for prayers that she will be found. “Please God, don’t cut this life short.”
She had a bunch of guest-starring roles in the years to come on programs like Baywatch, The Smart Guy, The Bernie Mac Show and CSI: Miami. Things did a complete 180 for her, career wise, when she joined the cast of Glee during its first season in 2009. Her character of Santana Lopez was more of a background performer towards the beginning of the show before they expanded it to something much bigger as the series progressed.
