Glee star Naya Rivera's heartbreaking final words to her son before she drowned revealed

13 February 2025, 16:11

Glee star Naya Rivera's heartbreaking final words to her son before she drowned have been revealed.

The actress, 33, died in 2020 while rescuing her son Josey from Lake Piru in California.

Josey, who was four at the time, told police she had boosted him on to the deck.

However, she did not have enough energy to save herself, local police said at the time.

Rivera's ex-boyfriend - and Josey's father - Ryan Dorsey has now revealed what her final words were before drowning.

"The last thing she said was his [Josey's] name, and then she went under, and he didn't see her anymore," he said.

He said his son had initially been scared to get in the water but Rivera said: "Don't be silly!"

Read more: Glee star Naya Rivera's death declared an accident by medical examiner

Read more: Body found in search for Glee star Naya Rivera belongs to actress, local police say

Opening up more about the traumatic experience, Dorsey told People: "Something [Josey's] said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it."

"I keep reassuring him, 'buddy, that rope wasn't going to be long enough.'"

He added: "It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments."

Dorsey said he first found out that Rivera had gone missing when he received a call from her stepfather in the middle of a supermarket.

"I collapsed into a pallet of drinks," Dorsey said. "I feared the worst."

He said he immediately got in his car and drove 145 miles to Lake Piru.

"I drove 100-and-­something the whole way with my four-way hazards on, chain-smoking cigarettes - and I don't even smoke, really - and just crying," he said. "I just wanted to get to Josey.

"If we'd have lost both Naya and Josey, I don't know how I would continue on with my life."

He added: "When it happened, I just found myself shaking my head, like, I can't believe she's gone. It's still so surreal every day."

Five years on, the holidays are particularly hard for Josey to face.

"We made this book of memories for Josey that sits by his bed, and during the holidays he was crying looking at it," Dorsey said.

"You can only give him a hug and tell him, 'I know, life is not fair. Bad things happen and there's no reason for it, and you just have to do your best to be a good person.'"