Ryan Dorsey Reflects on Naya Rivera’s Final Moments, as Recounted by Their Son

Ryan Dorsey, ex-husband of the late actress Naya Rivera, has opened up for the first time about the heartbreaking details surrounding her final moments, as recalled by their son, Josey, now 9 years old.

In an exclusive interview with People, Dorsey revealed that Josey still carries a sense of guilt over being unable to help his mother when she drowned in Lake Piru, California, in 2020. Rivera, best known for her role as Santana Lopez on Glee, was just 33 years old when the tragedy occurred.

A Child’s Heartbreaking Memory

Dorsey shared that Josey often repeats one specific memory from that fateful day.

“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,” Dorsey explained. “I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.’”

According to his son, Rivera had reassured him despite the windy conditions that day. When their rental boat began drifting—lacking an anchor or proper flotation devices—she instructed him to swim back to the boat.

Josey recalled reaching the boat’s tanks and pulling himself up, only to see his mother disappear beneath the water.

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

The Tragic Accident

Rivera had taken her son out on July 8, 2020, for what was meant to be a simple boat outing. When the rental boat was not returned on time, employees launched a search and found Josey alone on the vessel.

Authorities quickly launched a five-day search, ultimately recovering Rivera’s body and ruling her death an accidental drowning. The incident report concluded that Rivera likely exhausted herself saving her son, pushing him onto the boat before succumbing to the water.

In 2022, a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Josey against Ventura County was settled, citing inadequate safety measures on the boat.

A Father’s Grief

Dorsey recalled the moment he learned Rivera was missing, receiving a call from her family while in a Ralph’s supermarket in Big Bear Lake, California.

“I collapsed into a pallet of drinks,” he said. “I feared the worst.”

Rushing to the lake, Dorsey described speeding down the highway, hazard lights flashing, chain-smoking despite not being a smoker, and crying uncontrollably.

“I just wanted to get to Josey,” he said. “If we’d lost both Naya and Josey, I don’t know how I would continue on with my life.”

In one of her final social media posts, shared just days before her passing, Rivera posted a photo of herself and Josey with the caption:

“Just the two of us.”