Father Naya Rivera says son of late actress is doing well

Naya Rivera

George Rivera, the 64-year-old father of Glee actress Naya Rivera, speaks about his daughter and his grandson Josey, Naya’s five-year-old son, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. Among other things, he talked about how Josey deals with his mother’s death and how the whole family is ready to help him with that.

Naya drowned in July 2020 during a boat trip she took with Josey on Lake Piru, near Los Angeles. The boy survived the incident and was immediately taken in by his father Ryan Dorsey, Naya’s ex-husband. Naya Rivera

“Ryan is doing great, as is my other daughter Nickalaya,” George says. “Together they really form a team for Josey, to offer him the most normal life possible. That’s good to see. Of course that male has memories of that day, but thanks to their help he is doing well.”

Naya Rivera

Naya is not talked about on a daily basis, but conversations about her are certainly not avoided. “If Josey has any questions about her, we’ll answer them. Obviously in a language that is understandable to a five-year-old, we don’t have deep conversations with him. But he’s doing well after the trauma that happened to him.” Naya Rivera

George spoke to Naya via Facetime just before her fatal accident. “She told me that the boat she had rented did not have an anchor, which worried me. I urged her not to jump out of the boat to go swimming, because your boat will almost certainly drift off. I know because I often sail my boat myself. I saw the strong winds on my phone screen and got a bad feeling. I kept telling her not to leave the boat. Unfortunately, I was right.” Naya Rivera

Naya drowned because she had no power left to hoist herself on board, after lifting Josey back into the boat. The two had gone swimming, despite George’s advice, and the current eventually proved too intense.

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