Ryan Dorsey Opens Up About How His 7-Year-Old Son Navigates Life Without His Late Mother, Naya Rivera

It has been nearly three years since Naya Rivera passed away, leaving her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and 7-year-old son, Josey, with some difficult conversations as they navigate life without her. He recently opened up about those conversations and what lies ahead for the family in an interview with E! News. 

Dorsey, who turns 40 years old in July, talked about how a lot of Josey’s friends find out what his father does for work and it’s only a matter of time before they find out about his mother – describing it as ‘something that’s tough to navigate,’ especially when Josey asks questions about what happened. 

“It’s always a reminder of the obvious. Something that’s never going to change is what happened and him having to deal with it daily. As he crosses these milestones as a kid growing up, kids talk about their moms at school and dealing with his situation is very unique,” Dorsey explained in his recent interview. 

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Naya Rivera took her then-4-year-old son, Josey, on a boating trip in 2020. They rented a boat for three hours, but things took a turn for the worse when they hadn’t returned after those three hours were up. They found Josey sleeping on board the boat with his lifejacket on, but Naya was nowhere to be found. 

Josey later told investigators that they were swimming when his mother helped him get back on the boat. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to climb back up herself and ended up drowning. Her body was found by divers in the area five days after her disappearance – there were no signs of injury or intoxication. 

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ryan Dorsey – who was married to Naya Rivera between 2014 and 2018 – explained how ‘some days are harder than others’ for the family. Every now and then, Josey brings up memories from ‘the worst day of his life’ and often mentions how he misses his mother. 

“And there’s not much for me to say except, ‘I know buddy, and I love you,’ and I just give him a hug. Just some human dad-to-son contact, and rub his head and squeeze him, because it’s all I can do because I don’t really have any answers,” said Dorsey, who doesn’t believe in everything happening for a reason. 

Ryan Dorsey Still Struggles With the Reality of It All

While Josey – who turns 8 years old in September – continues to struggle with the reality of his mother being gone, he isn’t the only one struggling with that reality. In his interview with E! News on March 24, Ryan Dorsey admitted ‘it’s still extremely hard’ knowing and accepting that his ex-wife is no longer here. 

“I can’t watch videos. Pictures are still hard to look at. We have pictures in the house here. It’s like that thing you try to avoid. Every now and then I’ll make eye contact with these pictures, whether it’s the three of us or just her and him. It’s just really hard to accept,” he said of Naya Rivera’s sudden and tragic death.

With that said, Dorsey does have a son to raise and is excited to see his little man grow up – adding that Josey has taken a strong liking to stand-up comedy. In fact, the 7-year-old recently did a stand-up act for his very first talent show and even has ambitions of creating his own Youtube channel for his comedy. 

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Dorsey also explained that his son has already seen a lot of his father’s work in front of the camera, but hasn’t quite seen any of his mother’s work. He did, however, say that day will come and Josey has shown an interest in one day watching and appreciating the impact his mother had with her work in Hollywood.