Ryan Dorsey was in a “state of shock” when Glee star Naya Rivera died in a boating accident exactly five years ago.
Ryan Dorsey was in a “state of shock” when Naya Rivera died.
The 41-year-old actor has nine-year-old Josey with the late Glee star – who drowned at Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, California in 2020 at the age of 33 – and has now recalled the moment when the little one came round following the ordeal.
He told UsWeekly: “I remember laying there with [Josey] in a state of shock.
“Looking at this beautiful boy and grateful that he’s OK. When he woke up, he said, ‘Dad, what are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I came to be with you.’ He told me, ‘They can’t find Mommy. I hope they find her, but I think she might be dead.’ I was devastated for him, for me, for everyone.”
Exactly five years on from the tragedy, the Ray Donovan star has noticed just how “creative” Josey is and thinks he may well follow in the footsteps of his famous parents.
He added: “I see how creative Josey is. He’s been playing piano for a year and he is getting better at that. It’s been awesome to watch him go from poking around on one finger to playing with two hands. He’s starting to really hit the notes when he’s singing. He said to me the other day, ‘Dad, I think I might want to be a musician. My mom is a singer, so why not me?’ I just thought that was a beautiful thing.”
Despite his young age, Ryan also insisted that Josey will “always” remember his mother and he makes the effort to make sure that her memory is kept alive.
He said: “Josey will always have a lot of memories [of his mother]. He’s still telling stories about when we went to this place or that place. We have a lot of videos. Your iPhone will remind you, ‘Three years ago on this date,’ and I’ll say, ‘Hey, do you remember this?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I remember.’”
Ryan Dorsey recalls being in a ‘state of shock’ when Naya Rivera died
