Naya Rivera’s Ex, Ryan Dorsey, Reveals Her Final Words to Their Son Before Drowning

More than four years after Naya Rivera’s death, her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey is finally ready to speak on the tragedy.

In an interview with People magazine, Dorsey opened up on raising their son Josey, who is now 9.

In 2020, Josey was only 4 when Naya took him boating on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, where she drowned.

According to Ryan, Josey has been able to recall more of what happened as time has passed.

Dorsey revealed that their son was worried about going into the water on that windy day, but his mom responded, “Don’t be silly!”

After some swimming, Rivera realized that the boat was drifting and told Josey to swim back. Josey was able to grab “the tanks” and pull himself “around the boat.”

Dorsey got emotional, saying, “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.”

Josey feels guilty about his mother’s death.

Ryan said, “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.' That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her. I think she just got caught up in a brush — that or a weird undercurrent from the dam. It was just a freak occurrence."

Dorsey also thinks about what would have happened if he was at the lake that day.

He noted, “I probably would have jumped in, and I like to think I would've saved the day. But on the other hand, I think maybe something bad could have happened to both of us. I don't know."

It took days before Rivera’s body was found in a remote part of Lake Piru. Ryan called it “the worst five days of my life,” adding, “There was a fear, ‘What if we don’t find her?’ It was just awful."

On the day that Naya and Josey went to the lake, Ryan was in Big Bear Lake for a friend’s birthday.

He was in a Ralph’s when he got a call from Naya’s mom Yolanda’s husband that the “Glee” star was missing.

Dorsey recalled, “I instantly said, ‘What do you mean? She knows how to swim.’ He said, 'They jumped in, and Josey got back on, and they're trying to find Naya.' I collapsed into a pallet of drinks. I didn't know what to think, but I feared the worst.”

Ryan immediately drove to Lake Piru, saying, “I drove 100-and­something the whole way with my four-way hazards on, chain-smoking cigarettes — and I don’t even smoke, really — and just crying. I just wanted to get to Josey.”

He emphasized, “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."

Following the tragedy, Ryan and Josey moved to West Virginia.

Josey is getting to an age where he’s starting to ask questions that Ryan struggles to answer.

Dorsey shared, “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," Ryan went on. "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."

Ryan is a single dad, but Josey wants him to date. He explained why it’s complicated, saying, “It’s sad but sweet that he’s been telling me for years that he wants a brother and a stepmom. Expecting someone to sign up for my life and his life, it's not easy. I think he's easy, but all the variables, it's a lot to ask from someone."

Dorsey is planning to throw a “blowout” birthday party for Josey, who is turning 10 in September.

Ryan stressed, “I’m trying to be the best parent that I can be and raise a good little man. He gives me a reason to keep going with my life.”

Ryan and Naya finalized their divorce in 2018, just two years before her death. They were on-and-off for years.

Even after the divorce, Ryan noted that they “went back and forth playing house.”

He elaborated, “We were going to try to have another baby and all the things. We went to Maui to look at places and get a fresh start, and then we fell out again... If I knew what I know now, I would’ve tried to do things differently to make it work.”