Naya Rivera‘s younger sister is speaking out nearly one month after the actress’s tragic passing on July 8. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Naya drowned while on Lake Piru with her 4-year-old son, Josey.
Now, Rivera’s sister, Nickayla Rivera, is taking to Instagram to share the grief she has been living with since her sister’s passing. Nickayla’s posts came just hours after Rivera’s ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, shared a statement on Instagram as well. Ryan is also Josey’s father.
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“Sister,” Nickayla began, “There are no words to describe my love for you. Side by side or miles apart, our connection is infinite. Our bond is unbreakable. We were complete opposites, yet simultaneously the same. The yin to my yang. I never knew that by losing you, I would find so much of you in myself.”
“I’ve never known a life without you in it and still can’t imagine it,” the sister admitted. “My world is turned upside down. But through it all, everything we were, we are still. I’ll always look at you with the same eyes as I did when I was young. My shmaya, I’ll love you for eternity and miss you every second of my life.”
Along with a black and white photo of them from years ago, Nickayla took to Instagram to share a second photo as well. Also in black and white, the second photo was from even earlier in their childhood.
“I love you,” Nickayla Rivera simply captioned the photo.
Last year, Naya shared a photo of her and Nickayla spending time together on the beach. The photo was in celebration of National Sister Day.
“Sisters who slay together, stay together,” Naya wrote back in August 2019. Thankfully, Nickayla’s nephew, Josey, was not injured in the accident that claimed Rivera’s life.
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In fact, Naya’s last moments on earth were spent making sure her son got back onto their rented pontoon boat safely before she submerged under the water and never surfaced.