NAYA Rivera had planned to try for another baby before her tragic death, her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey has revealed.
The Glee actress died in 2020, at the age of 33, when she drowned Lake Piru, California.
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Actor Ryan was married to Naya from 2014 to 2018, and their son Josey was born shortly before they divorced.
Even though they were officially separated, the pair spent a lot of time together, “playing house,” and contemplated giving Josey a brother or sister.
“We were going to try to have another baby and all the things,” said Ryan, 41, in a new interview with People.
“We went to Maui to look at places and get a fresh start, and then we fell out again…
“If I knew what I know now, I would’ve tried to do things differently to make it work.”
Naya was with their son Josey, then four, when she died, and the youngster still has painful memories of the tragedy and blames himself for not saving her.
The actress was declared missing on July 8, 2020 and Josey, now nine, was later found asleep and alone.
Tragically the actress’s body was discovered five days later floating near the surface of the lake.
Five years on from the devastating accident, Ryan heartbreakingly revealed their son repeatedly goes over the incident and what could have been done differently.
He said: “Something he’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’.
“That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her. I think she just got caught up in a brush — that or a weird undercurrent from the dam. It was just a freak occurrence.”
The Ventura County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy and ruled her death as an accidental drowning.
“We believe that she mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself,” Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said after the discovery of her body.
“[Josey] and Naya swam in the lake together,” Ayub continued.
“It was during that time that her son described being helped onto the boat by Naya. … He told investigators he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”
Ryan confessed he is doing his best to make sure Josey knows the accident wasn’t his fault.
Naya shot to fame after playing Santana Lopez in Glee from 2009 until 2015.
She and Ryan tied the knot in Cabo San Lucas just three months after getting together – on the exact date Naya had been due to marry her ex, rapper Big Sean, before their split.
Ryan is best recognized for his roles as Earl on Justified and Duquesne “Dime Bag” Baker on Ray Donovan.
In recent years, Ryan has kept a low profile and focused mostly on his family, but he has had a few roles in Station 19, Big Sky, and 9-1-1.
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