Ryan Dorsey Reveals His Son Wept While Watching Naya Rivera in the Glee Concert Movie
Naya Rivera’s son, Josey, faced a heartfelt moment while watching the 2011 film Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, several years after the tragic passing of his mother at the age of 33.
“He sat through the entire movie, and you could see his eyes getting a bit teary,” Rivera’s former spouse, Ryan Dorsey, shared with People in an interview released on Sunday, March 9. “He’s a resilient boy, filled with memories and episodes of his mom. She’ll live on forever. That’s somewhat of a silver lining in this tragic situation.”
Dorsey, 41, and Rivera, renowned for her role as Santana Lopez on Glee, were married from 2014 until 2018. Two years after their separation, Rivera tragically drowned in July 2020.
Now, Dorsey is raising Josey as a single parent and finds it difficult to revisit Rivera’s past performances.
“Seeing pictures is challenging enough,” Dorsey mentioned to the outlet. “I can’t just watch her performances. It’s incredibly tough for me. Many songs remind me of her, like Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie,’ which she performed on Glee, and ‘Sunflower’ by [Post Malone and Swae Lee] because I would always bring her sunflowers on Sundays. I can picture Josey in the backseat, nodding along and singing that song.”
Reflecting on Rivera’s memories evokes a blend of emotions for Dorsey.
“There are moments of joy, but often, even in happiness, it’s a reminder of what could have been, what should have been,” he expressed. “A lot of second-guessing occurs, wondering how the smallest choices could have changed the path of our lives.”
Most importantly, Dorsey aims to uphold Rivera’s legacy for their son.
“We created a memory book for Josey that rests by his bedside, and he was in tears looking through it during the holidays,” Dorsey recounted. “All you can do is comfort him and say, ‘I understand, life isn’t fair. Bad things occur for no reason, and you just have to strive to be a good person.’ It’s challenging to explain things that don’t really make sense, regardless of age.”
According to Dorsey, he makes a conscious effort to honor his ex-wife by organizing “wonderful birthday celebrations” for Josey.
“I may never replicate the way she would do it, but I believe I’ve done fairly well for a few,” he noted. “For his 10th birthday [in September], I plan to throw a big celebration. I want to make her proud by continuing the parties she used to have for him as he ages.”
