Ryan Dorsey Honors Naya Rivera With Post 1 Year After Her Funeral

Ryan Dorsey is letting the world know just how hard it is to mourn the loss of his ex-wife, Naya Rivera, following her tragic passing in 2020.

Source: Gregg DeGuire / Getty

On Saturday, on the one-year anniversary of the late Glee star’s funeral, Dorsey opened up about his life since Rivera’s death, delving into what it’s like raising their 5-year-old son, Josey, without her.

“Today…A year ago we laid you to rest. I still can’t believe it,” he wrote under a black-and-white picture of their son. “The year has flown by, so fast that it doesn’t seem like it’s been a year at all.”

He continued, “Our boy has grown so much. He’s such an explorer, so inquisitive. He’s sweet, so funny, and his laugh always lights up the room. He’s an intuitive soul to say the least. To know him is to love him, everyone that meets him is always smiling. He’s doing ok. He’s such a resilient strong kid. He misses you but knows he’ll see you again, and the invisible string is something that’s helped us out during this ever-evolving transition of your time with us on earth that was unfairly & for reasons we’ll never understand cut short…too soon…”

He went on to admit that this month will likely always be hard, bringing back memories of the day Rivera was taken from the world far too soon.

“July will probably always be a strange and difficult month in the years that are hopefully plentiful in the future…still hard to see photos, still haven’t been able to read or watch anything,” Ryan wrote. “As the years go by strength will be on my side as I will share the memories with what is the brightest star of your legacy left on this earth, our beautiful son, Josey.”

Dorsey went on to explain why he chose to post a picture of their son holding a thumbs up, reliving the moment Naya sent one Josey’s way during a juijitsu class.

“The thumbs up…only a eemed right. I remember the first time he did it back to you,” he wrote. “At jujitsu, you gave him a thumbs up and he returned the gesture…it was so sweet. Maybe it’s silly and doesn’t make sense to be doing this on IG and putting this out there, but so is this whole thing. So there’s that…”

He concluded his post by assuring Rivera their son is doing just fine, writing, “Fly high, Rest In Peace, knowing he’s doing 👍 ok…he’s being raised right, and he’s got a lot of family and people around him that love him, and you. 🖤💔💙🖤”

Ryan capped things off with a heartfelt message for anyone else dealing with similar loss, telling them to keep going while admitting there’s nothing anyone can say to make things easier.

“For everyone out there that’s gone through similar events of loss…you know there’s not really any words that make it better,” he wrote. “We know some days are better than others…but know our hearts and energy are with you. We keep going, because that’s all we can do while being as strong as we can be. 🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️”

Naya Rivera went missing after a day on the water in Lake Piru on July 8, 2020. She was spending the day with Josey when she suddenly drowned, prompting a massive search over the next few days. Her body was eventually discovered in the lake. She was 33 years old.