Ryan Dorsey’s son, Josey, paid a touching tribute to his late mother, Naya Rivera, on what would have been her 39th birthday on Monday.
The actor, 42, and his son, 10, visited Lake Piru and released multiple pink heart balloons into the sky in her memory.
Sharing a photo of the heartwarming moment to his Instagram Story, Ryan captioned the post: ‘Grateful for giving us our sweet boy @joseydorsey’ alongside two prayer hands emojis.
The late Glee actress, who died on July 8, 2020, welcomed her son Josey with ex-husband Ryan in September 2015.
The touching tribute comes after Ryan shared their son’s heartbreaking reaction to watching his late mother onscreen.
The actor said their 10-year-old son Josey ‘welled up’ while watching footage of Naya in the 2011 musical documentary Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.
Ryan Dorsey’s son, Josey, paid a touching tribute to his late mother, Naya Rivera, on what would have been her 39th birthday on Monday
The late Glee actress, who died on July 8, 2020, welcomed her son Josey with ex-husband Ryan in September 2015
‘He sat there, and he watched the whole movie, and you could see his eyes welling up a little bit,’ Ryan told People in an interview published last year.
He added, ‘But he’s a strong boy, and he has a lot of content and episodes. His mom will live forever. I think that’s a silver lining of this terrible situation.’
Ryan also shared that Josey gets emotional while looking at photos of his mother.
He said: ‘We made this book of memories for Josey that sits by his bed, and during the holidays he was crying looking at it.’
Naya played Santana Lopez for all six seasons of Glee, from 2009 until 2015.
She began her career as a child actress and model, first appearing on national television commercials.
The late actress met Ryan in 2010, and after some time apart, the pair reconnected and married in 2014.
They welcomed their son, Josey, the next year before going their separate ways in 2018.
The late actress met Ryan in 2010, and after some time apart, the pair reconnected and married in 2014 (both pictured 2014)
Naya played Santana Lopez for all six seasons of Glee (2009-2015); pictured with co-star Lea Michele
Naya died in July 2020 while swimming at the Lake Piru reservoir in Ventura County.
26 other people have reportedly drowned in the 130ft-deep man-made reservoir known locally for unpredictable currents and bad whirlpools.
In 2022, Ventura County reached a confidential settlement with Dorsey in his wrongful death lawsuit due to the rented boat ‘not complying with safety standards.’
The On Call guest star remembered collapsing at Ralph’s grocery store in Big Bear upon hearing Naya was missing, and he drove 100MPH the 145 miles to Lake Piru to help with the five-day search effort for her remains.
He plans on writing more about the ‘monumental disaster’ in his upcoming memoir.
The on/off couple famously wed in Cabo San Lucas before 12 guests on July 19, 2014 – the same exact day Naya was originally scheduled to marry her ex-fiancé Big Sean before their split.
For the past two years, Ryan has been living a quieter life in his native West Virigina, where little Josey has been involved in sports, violin lessons, and acted in two plays at the Children’s Theatre of Charleston.
