Naya Rivera’s ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, paid an emotional tribute to the late star on what would have been her 36th birthday on Thursday, January 12.
Glee star Rivera accidentally drowned at age 33 on July 8, 2020 while boating on Lake Piru, California, with the former couple’s four-year-old son, Josey.
Dorsey, 39, who was married to Rivera from 2014 to 2018, shared touching photos of the actress doting on her son, now seven, revealing that she tries to “keep moving forward” every day.
He wrote: ‘IIIVI. A little easier with each bit of time spent looking at photos…but I still don’t have the answers to the questions why our sweet boy asks every once in a while. I will never do it.
Tragic loss: Naya Rivera’s ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, paid an emotional tribute to the late star on what would have been her 36th birthday on Thursday, January 12 – the star is pictured with her son Josey, now seven
‘Fly high. Doing the best we can.
‘If you’re reading this no matter what you’re going through, take a moment of gratitude that you’re still here on this journey.
“I know some days are harder than others to get up, but we have to keep going.”
On July 8, 2020, another boater raised the alarm after seeing Rivera’s boat adrift and Josey asleep on board.
Missed so much: Dorsey, 39, who was married to Rivera from 2014 to 2018, shared touching photos of the actress doting on her son, revealing she tries every day to ‘keep moving forward’
Before: The former couple appears in 2014 in Los Angeles
Naya’s son, Josey, told investigators that he returned to the boat and his mother did not; investigators believed that he had used his remaining strength to save his son.
Her autopsy confirmed that the actress drowned and there were no signs that drugs or alcohol played a role in her death.
He called his young son “my greatest success, and I’ll never do better than him” in his 2016 memoir “Sorry, Not Sorry.”
Rivera and Hollis divorced in 2018, after Rivera filed to end the marriage in 2016, but they initially reconciled.
On Thanksgiving weekend 2017, Rivera was arrested in West Virginia on suspicion of domestic battery against Dorsey.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said Dorsey later asked that Rivera not be prosecuted.
Rise to fame: Rivera played Santana Lopez on the hit show Glee
He became the third major Glee star to die at age 30. In what was the beginning of the show’s behind-the-scenes disappearance, on July 13, 2013, Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson, was found dead of a drug overdose at age 31. in his Vancouver hotel room, after taking a lethal combination of heroin and alcohol. Four months before his death, he had completed a stint in rehab.
The most dire of the show’s problems was undoubtedly the arrest of Mark Salling in 2015 and subsequent conviction in 2017 for possession of more than 50,000 images and 600 videos showing girls, some of whom were as young as three, being raped. It was described as “the worst collection of pornography the nation has ever seen.”
Salling, who played Noah “Puck” Puckerman on the show, tried to hide them by masking his IP address and storing them on an encrypted hard drive. They were revealed to the police by an ex-girlfriend to whom he showed them. She was ill and notified the authorities. In his plea agreement, the extent of his collection was described in harrowing detail.
Affectionate: Naya’s son, Josey, told investigators that he returned to the ship and his mother did not. Investigators believed that he had used his remaining strength to save his son.
He was found dead by suicide by hanging on January 30, 2018 near his home in Sunland, Los Angeles. His death came shortly before his sentencing, which was due to take place on March 7. He had attempted suicide the previous year by slitting his wrists, after which he was treated for psychological problems.
Salling dated Naya from 2007 to 2010. In her 2016 memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, the actress admitted she wasn’t surprised by his horrendous convictions.
She wrote: ‘I can’t say I was totally surprised. When Mark dumped me, I thought it was the worst thing that ever happened, but can you imagine if that didn’t happen?…
“And I was lying in bed when the battering ram came through the door?”
Father: Dorsey is pictured with the former couple’s son in 2022