‘I have to tell him she’s an angel now’
Naya Rivera’s ex speaks out after moving in with her sister
After the tragic death of Glee actress Naya Rivera in July, her five-year-old son Josey is now living with his father and aunt. It was revealed last week that Ryan Dorsey – Josey’s dad and Naya’s ex-husband – has moved into a property in Los Angeles along with Nickayla Rivera, Naya’s younger sister.
Ryan and Nickayla felt compelled to address their recent move on social media after people made comments about their relationship. Nickayla – a 25-year-old model – posted on Instagram, “I’m not concerned with the way things look, because no one can see each agonising moment we all endure. What matters most, I’ve learned, is to show compassion, not to judge others, and never take a moment of life for granted.” Ryan, 37 – who married Naya in 2014, before the couple split four years later – also posted online, sharing a 12-minute video in which he discussed moving in with Nickayla, and the grief he and his son were suffering. “There are people making judgments, making assumptions and sending terrible messages wishing death upon strangers that they truly know next to zero about,” he said, before explaining that his son has asked to live with his aunt “forever”, and adding that, “She’s now the closest thing he has to a [mum].”
Ryan was clearly emotional in the video and spoke a little about how hard his family have been hit with grief since 33-year-old Naya accidentally drowned in a Californian lake, after helping her son to safety on their rented boat.
“Saying this is sad is the understatement of my life,” Ryan said. “I have to tell him she’s an angel now, and she’s with God and she’s in heaven, and he says, ‘I wanna go there, how do I get there?’ I wouldn’t wish that upon any of your ears, to hear any of those words come out of the sweetest soul I know.” n