Ryan Dorsey’s speaking out to address rumors about his relationship with Nickayla Rivera, sister of his late ex-wife Naya Rivera.
In a heart-to-heart with People, he shared how Nickayla became part of his LA household after Naya’s passing in 2020, pitching in to help raise her nephew Josey, who Dorsey had with the Glee actress. With his busy work life keeping him away from home, Nickayla stepped up to help.
“She was such a big help,” said Dorsey. “I wanted to keep [Josey’s] life somewhat normal, and I knew I was going to be out of town working. I had to go to Vancouver for five months and Josey came the last month to stay with me, but during the time I was gone she held it down and kept that consistency.”
He shared, “She served as somewhat of a female figure and helped be the other voice of reason […] It was very surreal sometimes because the way she would say things to Josey would sound like his mom.”
The rumor mill kicked into overdrive when they were spotted shopping for Josey’s fifth birthday, with fans whispering about a possible romance. While Dorsey gets why people might have thought that, he says it wasn’t like that at all.
“The funny thing is, it did look like we were holding hands, but we grazed fingers on the escalator, and then it was this whole thing,” said Dorsey. “That was the only time I’ve ever addressed anything on social media because it was just so insane.”
The tragedy struck when Naya drowned during a swim with Josey at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. Dorsey revealed to People that Josey carries guilt about that day. As Naya struggled to get back on the boat, Josey tried finding something to help but got scared when he saw a “big spider” on a rope.
“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,” Ryan explained. “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.”
