Studying Time: 3 minutes
Naya Rivera is gone however not forgotten. Those that knew her finest proceed to pay tribute to her memory.
Thousands and thousands of followers proceed to grapple with the tragedy of her 2020 death.
Clearly, her household and family members really feel this loss extra keenly. And her younger son, who was together with her when she died, has grief and trauma which can be distinctive to him.
A heartbreaking new interview reveals Naya’s final phrases to her son — and the misplaced guilt that he feels over her passing.
![The late Naya Rivera back in July of 2013, seven years before her tragic death.](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2025/02/0212_nayarivera_01-683x1024.jpg)
It’s not Josey’s fault that Naya Rivera died, however he nonetheless feels guilt over it
Naya Rivera’s ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, has spoken about his late ex and their son. Nevertheless, he had not finished a sit-down interview within the practically 5 years since her passing — till now.
Talking to Individuals, he shared how their son, 9-year-old Josey, feels a way of misplaced guilt over his mom’s demise. Nobody else on the planet anticipated the then-4-year-old to miraculously save his mom from drowning in Lake Piru.
“One thing he’s stated again and again is that he was looking for a life raft, and there was a rope, however there was a giant spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it,” Dorsey shared. “I maintain reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be lengthy sufficient.’”
Like most 4-year-olds, Josey was capable of type clear recollections of this traumatic day. He remembers how windy it was once they went out onto the lake within the rental boat.
“Don’t be foolish!” Naya reportedly informed Josey when he expressed his considerations.
Notably, Ryan Dorsey filed a wrongful demise lawsuit in opposition to Ventura County. Settled in 2022, the go well with famous that the rental boat lacked an anchor or flotation gadgets.
![Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey in December of 2015.](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2025/02/0212_nayarivera_03-691x1024.jpg)
![Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey in December of 2015.](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2025/02/0212_nayarivera_03-691x1024.jpg)
What occurred on the day of Naya Rivera’s tragic demise?
With out an anchor, the rental boat was drifting. In response to Ryan Dorsey, Naya Rivera informed Josey to swim again to the boat.
He remembers grabbing “the tanks” and pulling himself “across the boat.”
Stories from the investigation say that Naya spent her final bits of power ensuring that he was capable of get again up onto the boat. She succeeded.
“He stated that the very last thing she stated was his identify,” Ryan Dorsey revealed grimly.
“After which she went below,” he continued, “and he didn’t see her anymore.”
He expressed: “It simply rocks my world that he needed to witness her final moments.”
![Naya Rivera and son Josey in February of 2019.](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2025/02/0212_nayarivera_02-895x1024.jpg)
![Naya Rivera and son Josey in February of 2019.](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2025/02/0212_nayarivera_02-895x1024.jpg)
‘It simply rocks my world that he needed to witness her final moments’
“We made this guide of recollections for Josey that sits by his mattress, and through the holidays he was crying it,” Dorsey defined of how Josey copes.
“You may solely give him a hug,” he reasoned. “And inform him, ‘I do know, life will not be truthful. Unhealthy issues occur and there’s no cause for it, and also you simply need to do your finest to be individual.’”
That’s sound recommendation. Tragedy occurs with out warning or cause, and survivors need to course of it. Shedding Naya Rivera won’t ever be a simple factor for her son.