Ryan Dorsey believes Naya Rivera is proudly “smiling down” on their son, Josey, who was only 4 when he watched his mother drown while they were swimming off a rental boat in California’s Lake Piru — exactly six years ago.
“He’s been taking piano lessons for a little over a year now, and he’s getting pretty good. It’s the one thing I connected with his mom,” Dorsey told Page Six via Zoom from his West Virginia home, claiming the late “Glee” star always “regretted” quitting.
“I said, ‘Your mom — she’s always listening. … You don’t understand now, but one day when you’re an adult or maybe even a teenager, you’re going to thank me. You’re never going to quit as long as you’re living with me.’”
The actor, 42, went on to marvel, “It’s just so awesome to hear him progress.”
The father-son duo also keeps the actress’ memory alive by way of a “Mommy Garden” in their yard.
“There’s roses and flowers and all these things that come back every year,” Dorsey shared. “And [Josey] waters it when it needs to be watered and kind of takes care of that. It kind of looks like a wishing well. So we put that up for her.”
During our interview, one of the “Yellowstone” actor’s many pets entered the frame. She, too, serves as a constant reminder of Rivera.
“This is Cliffy. [Josey] named her Clifford,” Dorsey explained while petting the pooch’s head. “He wanted a boy dog, and I said, ‘Well, that’s all they got’. … So he named her Clifford. And her middle name is Marie, like his mom. So it’s Cliffy Marie.”
The single dad does his part to make Rivera a consistent presence in their lives, but — inadvertently — so does Josey.
“He does certain things — little laughs and voices that I don’t even know that he knows that she used to do — well, I tell him — that remind me of silly things that she used to do and say,” Dorsey recalled, adding with a smile, “And he talks a lot, so he reminds me of her.”
“For all he’s been through,” he made sure to note, “he’s a super happy, charming, busy, smart kid.”
Though Rivera drowned on July 8, 2020, it took five agonizing days to recover the 33-year-old’s body.
“It’s always the first week of July,” Dorsey said of this painful time of year. “I purposely don’t know exactly what day it was because the whole process was just, like, one long week of a nightmare.”
The “Ray Donovan” actor — whose long, complicated relationship with Rivera included a four-year marriage — invoked the old “time heals all wounds” saying, lamenting that he’s learned to “cope with” and “accept” the tragedy, though it still makes him “shake [his] head every so often.”
Asked whether Josey ever mentions “that day,” Dorsey replied, “Not necessarily.” He told us his son’s recollection of “the worst day of [his] life” has remained consistent over the years: His mom — who was not wearing her life jacket — used all her strength to get him back on the boat that had drifted. She called out his name and disappeared under the water.
However, Josey has developed “a very interesting sense of humor about” it.
“We’ll be in a pool, and he’ll say something that correlates to that event, and it’s just a comment, and he goes back to swimming,” Dorsey revealed, adding, “It’s sad, but I’m so grateful that he’s got that spirit. He’s pretty resilient and happy and just lights up every room he walks into.”
The “Palm Royale” actor told us he focuses on taking things “one day at a time” — and keeping up with 10-year-old Josey, who has lived more than half his life without his mother.
After Rivera died, Dorsey — who later received a lawsuit settlement from Ventura County on behalf of Josey — tried to stay in Los Angeles, but it became too much. The cost of living, coupled with the media attention, prompted him to move back to his home state to give his son a quieter and more fulfilling upbringing.
Though he’s surrounded by his family (and both technology and transportation allow Josey to maintain a close relationship with Naya’s LA-based relatives), Dorsey is still a single parent working twice as hard to provide financially, physically and emotionally — all while navigating the pair’s shared grief.
“It is what it is, and it sucks, but we’re doing the best we can. And you know, the train — what do they say? That s–t don’t stop. Nothing stops,” the “Justified” actor said before pausing and giggling to himself.
“I’m always telling Josey, ‘The Reaper’s coming for all of us, brother.’ That’s kind of I think where he gets his somewhat morbid sense of humor from.”
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