Ryan Dorsey Honors Naya Rivera With Emotional Tribute One Year After Her Death

"A year ago we laid you to rest. I still can't believe it," Ryan Dorsey began his heartfelt tribute on Instagram to Naya Rivera, who tragically died last year after going missing at a lake outside LA.

By Alyssa Morin Jul 24, 2021 11:35 PMTags
Watch: Naya Rivera's Mom Tearfully Recalls Final Words With Her Daughter

Naya Rivera's life and legacy continue to live on.

It's been exactly one year since the Glee actress devastatingly passed away after she went missing for several days while boating with her then 4-year-old son Josey at a lake outside of Los Angeles. Five days following the tragedy, her death was confirmed by authorities.

To mark the one-year anniversary of Naya's passing, her ex and the father of her child, Ryan Dorsey, took to Instagram to share a heartfelt tribute.

"Today…A year ago we laid you to rest. I still can't believe it," he began his caption on Saturday, July 24. "The year has flown by, so fast that it doesn't seem like it's been a year at all."

The Big Sky star then took a moment to praise Josey, 5.

"Our boy has grown so much. He's such an explorer, so inquisitive," the dad gushed. "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."

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Naya Rivera: Life in Pictures

In addition, the 38-year-old actor explained how his son has been doing following Naya's death.

"He's doing ok," he admitted, adding, "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…"

Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

The Justified actor revealed that he wanted to honor Naya by sharing a photo of their son that held a significant meaning. On Instagram, Ryan posted a collage of the late star and their son Josey, as well as a snapshot of their little one giving a thumbs up and flashing a wide smile.

As Ryan described of the image, "The thumbs up…only a eemed [sic] right. I remember the first time he did it back to you. 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…"

Although he confessed that "July will probably always be a strange and difficult month" for their family, he reiterated that Josey will always be taken care of.

"Fly high, Rest In Peace, knowing he's doing ok…," Ryan shared. "He's being raised right, and he's got a lot of family and people around him that love him, and you."

Before signing off, Ryan expressed his support for anyone who has experienced loss.

He concluded, "For everyone out there that's gone through similar events of loss…you know there's not really any words that make it better…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."

Take a look at Naya's life in pictures here.