Ryan Dorsey is determined to keep Naya Rivera's memory alive for their son.
The 39-year-old actor, who shared son Josey, 7, with the late Glee star, recently got candid about the years following his ex-wife's tragic death from downing in July 2020 while on a boating trip with the then-four-year-old Josey. And it's an experience that the actor noted has sparked difficult conversations with Josey as he's gotten older.
"A lot of the kids find out what his Dad does for work. They'll also find out about his Mom, which is always something that's tough to navigate," Ryan—who guest stars on the March 26 episode of Magnum P.I.—said. "It's always a reminder of the obvious. Something that's never going to change is what happened and him having to deal with it daily. As he crosses these milestones as a kid growing up, kids talk about their Moms at school and dealing with his situation is very unique."
In the nearly three years since Naya's death, Josey has become increasingly inquisitive about learning more about his mom and what made her special.
"He's never going to forget his Mom," the Pitch actor shared. "He's interested in watching things and looking at her work one day. That stuff will speak for itself and he'll really get to appreciate the impact she had on people and how talented she was and who his Mom was on the outside, not just in his home life."
As for what Josey has watched already, he said, "I think the only stuff he's seen is what his other Grandma has shown him. I think he's seen some bits and pieces."
However, Ryan—who was married to Naya from 2014 to 2018—admitted that he's still unable to show anything to Josey himself.
"To be honest, it's still extremely hard for me," he said. "I can't watch video. Pictures are still hard to look at. We have pictures in the house here. It's like that thing you try to avoid. Every now and then I'll make eye contact with these pictures, whether it's the three of us or just her and him. It's just really hard to accept, even though we're coming on three years."
The Justified alum revealed that Josey doesn't shy away from talking about what happened the day his mom died.
"I just listen to what he has to say because a lot of the time I don't have any answers," Ryan said. "He'll make statements like, ‘I wish this didn't happen' or ‘Why did this have to happen?' and I just give him a good squeeze and rub his head and kiss him on the cheek and tell him I love him. I put my love onto him and that's all I can really do."
While navigating his new normal as a single dad, Ryan has also been forced to learn how to juggle his professional aspirations—including his role on Magnum P.I..
"I play a guy named Nixon and he's not very friendly," he teased. "He's not very nice. Big surprise."
In addition to his role as Earl on Justified, Ryan has less-than-savory characters on shows like Ray Donovan, Yellowstone and Big Sky.
"Playing the bad guys is kind of fun because not everybody wants to do that, but somebody has to," he said. "It's fun to be someone who's completely not who I am in real life. I'm a pretty silly, happy-go-lucky guy if you really know me. When I get to do these kinds of things, it's just being a kid. It's cops and robbers and I'm the robber."
Watch Ryan on the March 26 episode of Magnum P.I., 9 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)