The late star Naya Rivera would have turned 35 on Wednesday.
Her 28-year-old sister, Nickayla Rivera, was spotted ahead of the bitter-sweet day with Naya’s ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and his six-year-old son Josey.
Nickayla, who moved in with Dorsey shortly after Naya’s tragic drowning, opened up about the ‘dark place’ she found herself in after her sisters’ sudden death a year and a half ago.
Supporting each other: Naya Rivera’s sister Nickayla was spotted with Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey and his son Josey near the home they share in Los Angeles a year and a half after her tragic drowning
Stay strong: The sight came a few days before what would have been Naya’s 35th birthday
Ryan Dorsey, 38, was seen on Monday enjoying a sweet father-son bonding moment with his son Josey.
The happy father followed closely while Josey learned to write her bike without exercise wheels near their home in Los Angeles.
The actor, dressed down in a shirt with a round neck, sunglasses and a baseball hat, guided his son with encouraging words as he stomped down the block.
Dorsey shared Josey with her late ex-wife, Naya Rivera, who tragically drowned while sailing with their son, then four, in 2020.
Milestones: Ryan Dorsey, 38, was seen on Monday enjoying a sweet father-son bonding moment with his son Josey, whom he learned to ride without exercise wheels
Sad: Dorsey shared Josey with her late ex-wife, Naya Rivera, who tragically drowned while sailing with their son, then four, in 2020
Naya’s model sister Nickayla was seen nearby while Josey enjoyed a bike ride, wearing low-fitting black sweatpants and a matching shirt.
She and Dorsey moved in together a few months after Naya’s death and still live together a year and a half later.
The decision to live together raised a few eyebrows at the time, but Dorsey slammed with reports that something romantic was going on between the two.
In an emotional Instagram shared at the end of September 2020, Ryan collapsed and hit back at people who ‘make assumptions’.
Titi: Naya’s model sister Nickayla was spotted nearby while Josey enjoyed a bike ride, wearing low-cut black sweatpants and a matching shirt
All for Josey: She and Dorsey moved in together a few months after Naya’s death and still live together a year and a half later
‘It’s really sad that this is the world we live in, where people are brought up to believe that it’s okay to spew hatred in general, especially when they make statements about a family dealing with a tragedy, which I hope is so unthinkable that you or anyone close to you will ever have to go through, ‘he said at the time.
He went on to explain: ‘[Josey] asks me if Titi can stay with us. ‘I want Titi to stay with us forever’ because she is now the closest he has to a mother. ‘
‘It’s a temporary situation. After all he has had to go through, how could you deny him that? Because of what? What could some stranger think or say, or spit out any hatred based on some ill-considered, illogical, misinformed tabloid? ‘
Nickayla Rivera opened up this week about the family tragedy on her YouTube channel, revealing how she struggled to move on while in a dark place.
Strikes back: After receiving criticism for moving in together months after Naya drowned in 2020, Dorsey hated hatred, which Josey asked his aunt to live with them, as she is the closest he has to a mother .
‘In July 2020, my sister Naya died. And when it happened, I was in complete shock, ‘she said into the camera.
‘My whole family was in complete shock. It was as if someone was pulling the rug under us and we did not see it coming.
‘The dark place I was in before only developed when it happened. At the time, I had no thoughts about my future. I really had no thoughts about myself. I was just in pain. ‘
Naya drowned at Lake Piru, outside of Los Angeles, when she was just 33 years old.
‘In July 2020, my sister Naya died. And when it did, I was in complete shock, ‘Nickayla said in a YouTube video this week. ‘My whole family was in complete shock. It was as if someone was pulling the rug under us, and we did not see it coming. “
‘The dark place I was in before only developed when it happened. At the time, I had no thoughts about my future. I really had no thoughts about myself. I was just in pain. ‘
‘I realized that the pain I was experiencing would not go anywhere until I decided to find the good in this world. So from then on, I went on this journey to discover who I was, Nickayla said in her video.
Adds: ‘I started asking myself the hard questions of what is stopping me from being myself? What past am I still holding on to? And why do I not live as if every day is a gift? Because it is.’
Rivera had disappeared on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 during a boat trip with her four-year-old son Josey. That night, he was found asleep in his life jacket on their pontoon, but there was no trace of the Glee actress.
According to authorities, Naya’s last moments went with rescuing her son.
Police say it appeared Rivera ‘gathered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save himself’, after confirming that the body of the star was found.
Tragic: In July 2020, Naya drowned while sailing with her son on Lake Piru, outside of Los Angeles, when she was only 33
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