Nearly five years after the tragic drowning of actress Naya Rivera, her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey has spoken out in his first in-depth interview, sharing the poignant final moments Rivera spent with their son, Josey, before her untimely death.
On July 8, 2020, Rivera and then-four-year-old Josey went for a swim during a day out at Lake Piru in Southern California, having rented a pontoon boat for a private outing.
Tragically, Rivera never returned to shore, and was declared missing. Her body was discovered five days later, on July 13, following a large-scale search operation. She was just 33 years old.
Now, speaking to PEOPLE, Dorsey has revealed heartbreaking details Josey remembers from that day, including the last words his mother said to him.
“She told him, ‘Don’t be silly,’ when he said he was scared to swim,” Dorsey said. “She was trying to reassure him.”
Josey jumped into the water with Rivera, but the boat they had rented began drifting away. In her final moments, Rivera focused entirely on getting her son back on board.
Dorsey shared that Josey has described the experience in remarkable detail, recalling that he held onto “the tanks” as his mother helped him back to safety. “He said the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore,” Dorsey recalled.
The now-nine-year-old has struggled with lingering feelings of guilt. “He keeps bringing up this moment with a rope on the boat, he said he saw a rope, but there was a big spider on it, and he was too scared to use it,” Dorsey said.
“He thinks if he’d thrown it, he might have saved her. I keep telling him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t long enough. You couldn’t have done anything.’ But that moment clearly haunts him,” he added.
Dorsey reflected on the possible causes of Rivera’s drowning, calling it a “freak occurrence,” possibly involving underwater brush or a strong undercurrent. “I’d like to think if I had been there, I could’ve saved her,” he admitted. “But maybe we both could have ended up in danger. I’ll never know.”
He also recounted the harrowing moment he first learned of Rivera’s disappearance. Dorsey, now 41, was grocery shopping in Big Bear Lake when he received a call from Rivera’s stepfather, telling him that Naya was missing.
“I just dropped to the ground,” he said, via The Independent. “I couldn’t believe it. I drove like a maniac to get to Josey, crying the whole way, chain-smoking even though I don’t smoke.”
In 2022, Rivera’s family reached a wrongful death settlement with Ventura County, where Lake Piru is located.
The lawsuit alleged insufficient safety warnings and signage around the lake, according to Sky News. The settlement ensures that Josey will be financially supported in the years to come.
“While no amount of money can ever replace his mother,” the family said in a statement, “we’re grateful this settlement will help Josey build a future, one his mom would have wanted for him.”