Naya Rivera’s ex reveals her final words to son Josey in first interview since her death

Naya Rivera’s ex-husband Ryan Dorsey has spoken about her tragic death for the first time after she passed away following a boating accident involving her son.

Back in 2020, Glee star Naya Rivera was involved in a boating accident that subsequently led to her disappearance and death. The tragic story gripped the world as officials searched California’s Lake Piru for her body, with the coroner later ruling it as accidental drowning.

Ryan and Naya married in 2014, and though they divorced four years later, their relationship remained amicable as they raised their son Josey. Now, in a brand new interview with PEOPLE, Ryan has shed light on the story for the first time.

Naya Rivera’s ex says their son suffers from a lot of guilt

Speaking to the publication about his ex-wife’s death for the first time, actor Ryan Dorsey explained that Josey still lives with the guilt of not being able to save his mother.

He explained: “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.”

“He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore. It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments.”

At the time, Ryan was shopping 145 miles away when Naya’s stepdad called him with news of the accident.

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“I instantly said, ‘What do you mean? She knows how to swim,’” he recalled. “He said, ‘They jumped in, and Josey got back on, and they’re trying to find Naya.’ I collapsed into a pallet of drinks.”

Panicking, he immediately left the supermarket in Big Bear Lake, California, driving “100-and-something” with his hazards on while “chain-smoking cigarettes.”

“I don’t even smoke, really — and just crying. I just wanted to get to Josey,” he added. “If we’d have lost both Naya and Josey, I don’t know how I would continue on with my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have been good.”

They are trying to move on with their lives but it’s hard

In the years since Naya’s death, Josey and Ryan moved to West Virginia but it’s still difficult for the family. In particular, the Christmas period is especially hard.

He said: “We made this book of memories for Josey that sits by his bed, and during the holidays he was crying looking at it. 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.'”

“It’s hard trying to explain things that you can’t really make sense of no matter what age you are. I’m not a big believer in everything happens for a reason because I can’t ever think of a reason why he doesn’t have his mom.”

Of course, Naya is but one of the Glee stars who have lost their lives. Cory Monteith, Mark Salling, Robin Trocki, and Mike Hagerty also died after the show closed its curtains for the final time.

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Featured image credit: PEOPLE/20th Century Fox Television