In the same interview, her ex Ryan Dorsey revealed how their son desperately tried to save her
Naya Rivera pictured in 2014
Lisa McLoughlin 1 minute ago
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Ryan Dorsey has shared the heartbreaking final words Naya Rivera said to their son, Josey, before she tragically drowned nearly five years ago.
Rivera took her then four-year-old son on a boating trip at Lake Piru in California, a popular spot for water activities.
Hours later, he was discovered alone, asleep on the pontoon boat, wearing a life jacket. His mother, best known for her role on Glee, was nowhere to be found.
A frantic search began, and after five days, her body was recovered from the lake on July 13, 2020—tragically, on the anniversary of her Glee co-star Cory Monteith’s passing in 2013.
In his first major interview since her tragic death, Dorsey revealed that their now nine-year-old son still remembers vivid details from that devastating day.
Dorsey shared that their son recalls his mother reassuring him, saying, “Don’t be silly!” after he expressed fear about swimming.
Josey then jumped into the water with Rivera before she noticed their boat drifting away. Dorsey explained that his son remembers holding onto “the tanks” to help maneuver himself around the boat to climb back on.
“He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore,” Dorsey told People.
Josey was deeply affected by the tragedy, and Dorsey admits he approaches parenting differently because of everything his son has endured. Despite this, he describes Josey as a happy, outgoing child who is kind to everyone.
“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,” he continued. “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. 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.”
Her death was ruled an accidental drowning. Dorsey later reflected on the heartbreaking loss, suggesting that a sudden current or underwater debris may have contributed to the tragedy.
Rivera’s family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ventura County, United Water Conservation District, and Parks and Recreation Management, ultimately reaching a private settlement for an undisclosed sum.
