It’s Naya Rivera’s birthday, and the ex-husband of the late star continues to think about her every day since the actress died in 2020 in a drowning accident.
On Sunday, January 12 – what if joy star’s 38th birthday — actor Ryan Dorsey shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, including a message about the former couple’s 9-year-old son, Josey Hollis Dorsey.
Along with a photo of the couple — who married in 2014 and divorced in 2018 — Dorsey wrote a song for Rivera.
Dorsey, 41, began by wishing her a “Happy Heavenly Birthday.”
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“5 birthdays since you’ve been gone,” Dorsey wrote. “Every day I think about how it went wrong. Memories tied to places, They still see all the things, they see all our faces.”
“Visions of happiness and sadness, 15 years go by when I hear a certain song,” he continued. “I often shake my head still in disbelief, they say time heals everything, but not everything is sadness.”
An actor who appeared in series like Yellowstone and Justifiedsaid he’s “doing the best he can for our JoJo Binx,” referring to their 9-year-old son.
“As time passes, I am often alone, sitting and thinking,” he added. “I think more of our better times, Like this picture from the past, but it still fucking stings. Come on [dogs] Emmy and Lucy one good rub, And if you’re reading this, Be kind to the one you love, You’ll never know when you’ll hug them for the last time. 🤍.”
Naya Rivera with her son Josey in a March 2020 Instagram post.
Naya Rivera/Instagram
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Rivera, who was beloved for her role as Santana Lopez on joyshe was 33 years old when she died. In July 2020, she rented a boat while on California’s Lake Piru with Josey, who was 4 years old at the time. When the boat was not returned in time, staff found it on the north side of the lake with Josey sleeping in a life jacket on board, but Rivera was not with her child.
The actress was then reported missing, and her body was found five days later, on July 13. An autopsy later determined her cause of death to be accidental drowning, and investigators determined that she likely saved Josey by returning him to the ship before her death.
She was laid to rest on July 24, 2020.
Although Rivera and Dorsey had a tumultuous relationship before their 2017 split — their divorce was finalized the following year — the actor shared several emotional tributes and messages about the star following her tragic death.
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Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez in ‘Glee’ promotional photo.
FOX Image Collection via Getty
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In 2022, he shared an emotional statement with PEOPLE, starting with how “proud” the late star would have been of his son. “She knew how willing Josey was to share his things,” he said at the time, “but she would have been so proud to see him give the things he loved to friends or donate them.”
“He has this unique literal LOUD giggle of laughter while watching TV that’s kind of sickeningly cute like hers was, but his even more so,” he continued, adding that, “no matter what your mood, it would make anyone smile if you heard.”
“At least once a day I catch myself shaking my head, like it’s still unbelievable, so surreal that she’s gone,” he concluded. “Today she would go crazy, I could almost hear her, ‘Oh my god, I almost went crazy 40!’ It’s hard to write this, tears are flowing from my eyes.”
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