Ryan Dorsey has broken his silence.
Nearly two weeks after the tragic death of Naya Rivera, her ex-husband and the father of her child has expressed his heartbreak in a gut-wrenching Instagram post.
“I can’t believe this is life now. I don’t know if I’ll ever believe it. You were just here… We were just in the back swimming with Josey the day before. Life just isn’t fair,” the actor continued, along with a photo of Rivera and their son Josey.
The four-year old, of course, was discovered on board a pontoon boat his mother had rented earlier this month.
He was alone and he told authorities that Rivera hoisted him up on to the vessel, went underwater… and never resurfaced.
After an extensive five-day search for Rivera’s body, California officials confirmed on July 14 that the former Glee star had died by drowning.
I don’t know what to say… I’m thankful for our times and our journey that brought us together and gave us the sweetest and kindest smart little boy we could ever hope for.
I remember sometimes you used to get annoyed at me: ‘Ryan can you stop snap chatting!’ Haha.
I’m glad I didn’t listen to you because I have hundreds and probably thousands of snaps and videos that Josey will have forever and know his momma loved him more than life, and how much fun we had together as he was growing up.
As far as we know right now, Josey is safe and healthy and in Dorsey’s care.
Ryan and Naya were married from 2014 through 2018.
“Life is all about good times and bad times but with Josey it makes the bad a little less so because a part of you will always be with us,” wrote Dorsey on Sunday.
“He’ll never forget where he came from. We miss you. We will always love you. Love you Meep.’
To everyone that reached out and I haven’t had a chance to or just didn’t get back to you…thank you all for the overwhelming love and support you’ve sent our way.
I’ll just say in closing, be kind to yourself, be kind to others, forgive…forget…don’t hold grudges….if you have nothing nice to say maybe try not to say anything.
There’s peace in silence. Time on Earth is precious and you just never know….you never know what could happen.
Hold your loved ones close, and cherish the times you have with those you care about.
The weekend before Naya was found dead, Dorsey was spotted out on Lake Piru with his ex-wife’s family.
TMZ reported at the time that the 36-year-old actor got into the water on Saturday, July 11 — and was later seen taking a moment to himself as authorities continued their search for his ex-wife.
A source recently told E! News the former couple had been on strong terms, especially when it came to looking after their only child.
They were both “really good about co-parenting” and stuck to a “routine,” the insider said.
Rivera’s final moments, meanwhile, were spent saving the person she loved most, according to Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub, who recounted what Josey told the police about the fatal accident.
“We know from speaking with her son, that he and Naya swam in the lake together at some point during their journey. It was during that time that her son described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind,” the sheriff said.
“He told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”
Naya Rivera died a hero.
May she rest in peace.
It’s been just over a week since authorities confirmed the death of Naya Rivera.
The Glee star disappeared while swimming with her 4-year-old son in California’s Lake Piru on July 8.
It is now believed Rivera helped her son to safety, but was unable to save herself.
She was just 33 years old.
In the days since her body was recovered, tributes to Rivera have come pouring in from all over the globe.
Family, friends, and a legion of devoted fans have taken to social media to share stories of the myriad ways in which Naya touched their lives.
The tributes did not arrive all at once, but were staggers, as Naya’s loved ones struggled to make sense of their feelings and put them into words.
Now, Glee star Chris Colfer has become the latest professional colleague of Rivera’s to praise her talent, her work ethic, her intellect — and, most importantly, her character.
“She was the cool older sister you went to for advice, to blow off steam or to get the hottest take on the latest gossip. Just being in Naya’s presence made you feel protected and regardless of the situation, you knew she’d have your back,” Colfer wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
“She was never afraid to stand up to authority, she always called out mistreatment where she saw it and she always told you the truth—even when it was hard to hear.”
Colfer remembered Rivera as “funniest and most quotable” and recalled that her sense of humor was particularly cherished on “particularly rough days of filming.”
“Once, during a heated exchange between an actor and a director, I’ll never forget her turning to me with a cheeky grin and asking, ‘Is this a bad time to tell someone the DVD player in my trailer isn’t working?”‘ he wrote.
Colfer says his grief over losing Naya is so profound that it’s often left him wondering if his friend was real or part of some glorious dream.
“In fact, the process of losing her has been such a nightmare, I find myself wondering if Naya was even real or if she was just a dream all along,” he wrote.
“How could a human being be that talented, that hilarious and that beautiful at once? How could one person be responsible for so much joy and be the subject of so many wonderful memories?”
Colfer concluded with a reminder of how important Naya’s work was to a generation of young people:
“Her heroic and groundbreaking portrayal of Santana Lopez on Glee inspired millions of young people around the world, especially in the LGBTQIA community, and it will be treasured for generations to come,” he wrote.
“Naya leaves behind a void that only Naya herself could fill,” Colfer continued.
“To have a friend like her, even briefly, is to be blessed beyond belief.”
We hope that for those who knew her best, grief over the loss of Naya is in some way ameliorated by the fact that she was adored by millions
Big Sean Breaks Silence on Naya Rivera’s Death: Read His Heartbreaking Statement Here
For the past several days, family and friends of Naya Rivera have been publicly paying their respects to the late actress.
As you’ve surely heard, she died last week while out on a boating trip with her four-year-old son, Josey.
The two rented a pontoon boat and took it out on Lake Piru in California, but when the boat wasn’t returned on time, a search began.
Another boater found the rental, and they found Josey asleep with Naya nowhere to be found.
Later, the boy told investigators that they were both swimming, then he got back on the boat while she stayed in the water.
It’s now believed that the the situation in the lake had gotten dangerous, and that Naya managed to push her son on the boat to safety but wasn’t able to save herself.
A search party was formed to find her, but it soon turned into a recovery mission, as she was believed to have drowned.
On Monday, her body was found.
Since then, so many people have spoken out about how much Naya meant to them.
Several of her former Glee costars had such kind things to say about her, like Jane Lynch, who tweeted:
“Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family.”
Chris Colfer posted a lengthy tribute to her on Instagram, telling us all that she “was truly one of a kind, and she always will be.”
Darren Criss sweetly wrote that even while he was mourning her, “the very thought of her cracks me up and still brings a smile to my face. That was Naya’s gift. And it’s a gift that will never go away.”
Her family also released an official statement thanking all the people who looked for her and all the people who have sent prayers and condolences.
And now one more person is coming forward with a statement about Naya: her ex, Big Sean.
Naya and Big Sean got together in 2013, and a few months after they started dating, they got engaged.
They planned a wedding for July of 2014, but they broke up before it happened – some reports claimed that he cheated on her, other sources said that he couldn’t handle her jealousy.
Whatever happened, things definitely didn’t end amicably.
But still, after what happened to Naya, Big Sean took the time to write a sweet statement on Instagram.
Along with a couple of photos of her, he wrote the following:
Rest In Peace Naya, God Bless your Soul!
Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. You are a hero!
Not just because of how you saved your son, also because of the barriers you knocked down for so many people to make them feel confident in themselves and to stand tall and be pround when they couldn’t achieve that on their own.
I appreciate and cherish everything that ever happened between us for making me wiser and a better person.
I’m still grieving and in shock, I can’t believe this is real.
I’m praying for you and your family and I know you’re watching over them and protecting them.
Rest In Peace Naya.