Naya Rivera’s 4-year-old son, Josey, is reportedly “doing better every day” a month after the “Glee” star’s accidental death.
Josey was the last person with Rivera before she went missing on Lake Piru in California. Her body was later recovered on July 13.
The 4-year-old is currently living full-time with his father, Ryan Dorsey, according to Entertainment Tonight. Rivera’s sister, Nickalya, is also spending a lot of time with Josey.
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“Ryan’s whole world is Josey right now,” a source told ET. “Ryan is still grieving and is very much struggling with the loss of Naya, but he stays strong and keeps going for the sake of his son.”
They added: “Ryan would do anything for Josey. Right now, he’s really laying low and staying out of the public eye so he can completely focus on Josey and try to figure out how to navigate this new normal.”
The source revealed Josey has an understanding that his mother is dead, but their family tries to share good memories of the late “Glee” star every day.
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“Josey is a very strong boy and Naya would be very proud of him,” the insider said.
Dorsey, 37, posted a touching tribute to Rivera on Instagram on July 25.
He recalled often taking Snapchat videos and pictures of Rivera, to which she’d respond, “Ryan can you stop snap chatting!”
“I’m glad I didn’t listen to you because I have hundreds and probably thousands of snaps and videos that Josey will have forever and know his momma loved him more than life, and how much fun we had together as he was growing up,” Dorsey continued.
“Life is all about good times and bad times but with Josey it makes the bad a little less so because a part of you will always be with us. He’ll never forget where he came from. We miss you. We will always love you. Love you Meep,” he concluded.
On July 14, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Rivera’s cause of death was drowning, following the completion of an autopsy report. The manner of death is listed as an accident. She was 33.
Rivera was the subject of a massive search effort led by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office that lasted five days after she rented a pontoon boat with her 4-year-old son, Josey, and went missing. Police ultimately confirmed a body had been found at the northeast corner of Lake Piru. Hours later, at a press conference, authorities said they were “confident” it was the former “Glee” star.
Rivera and her son went swimming during their excursion — he was wearing a life jacket but she wasn’t — and he got back into the boat but she didn’t, the sheriff’s department said.
The child was found safe on the boat three hours later by another boater, according to 360aproko news in Los Angeles. According to Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub, Josey told investigators that his mother helped him get back on the boat. He then looked back and saw her disappear into the water.
Dorsey and Rivera married in 2014 and got divorced in June 2018. Josey is their only child. She wrote in her memoir that her son was “my greatest success, and I will never do anything better than him.”
