Jenna Ushkowitz Revisits First Time Glee Fans 'Really Saw' Naya Rivera: 'I Fully Burst into Tears'

Mark Sullivan/WireImage

Jenna Ushkowitz is remembering her late Glee costar Naya Rivera.

The 36-year-old actress shared her emotional reaction to rewatching Rivera's performance of "I Say A Little Prayer" — which also featured Heather Morris and Dianna Agron — while cohosting the latest episode of the recap podcast And That's What You REALLY Missed with Kevin McHale.

"This is the first time I felt we really saw Naya in the show and I fully burst into tears," she shared. "I fully burst into tears."

She admitted that watching the Fox musical series following Rivera's death in 2020 was going to be "an interesting, hard time" but added, "It's also like watching her in her element also, [which] is joyous too."

"She and Heather were just dancing their little hearts out," McHale, 34, added.

However, McHale — who played Artie Abrams on the beloved series — revealed that he has yet to shed tears while rewatching Rivera portray Santana Lopez on screen.

"You had warned me about that, the crying, so I was prepared but I think because there hasn't been too much yet of Santana, I'm sorta keeping it at bay," he explained. "I know it's going to get bad."

RELATED: Glee Alums Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz Say Death of Naya Rivera Led Them to End Original Podcast

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Rivera was pronounced dead in July 2020 after being reported missing amid her boating trip with son Josey at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. Her body was recovered days later, and the Ventura County Medical Examiner later ruled her cause of death as an accidental drowning. She was 33.

Earlier this month, Ushkowitz and McHale opened up to PEOPLE about how the sudden passing of Rivera influenced their decision to end their former podcast Showmance and start a new fresh with a new one.

"Jenna and I initially had started a podcast that was just about co-workers who became best friends, and we met a lot of interesting people like that," McHale said. "But we quickly realized people just wanted to know about Glee."

"It was at the very beginning of the [rise of] rewatch podcasts," he continued. "We started doing it, but it wasn't necessarily a well-thought-out, well-intentioned, well-researched take on it. We were just like, 'Let's just do it.' And then after Naya's passing, we decided we don't want to do this anymore."

"I think once Naya passed," said Ushkowitz, who played Tina Cohen-Chang, "there was a reckoning of sorts for all of us in many, many ways."

RELATED: Glee Star Naya Rivera Dead at 33 After Disappearing on Boating Trip with 4-Year-Old Son

David Livingston/Getty Images Naya Rivera

Nearly one month later, McHale shared on Twitter that Showmance would release episodes "that were pre-recorded" in June 2020. He also indicated that they'd be taking a break thereafter. The last episode premiered on Aug. 6, 2020.

But iHeartRadio eventually approached McHale and Ushkowitz about doing an all-new podcast. According to McHale, the two former costars "had long conversations about it."

RELATED: Naya Rivera's Glee Costars Pay Tribute 2 Years After Her Death: 'Miss You Every Damn Day'

"I think maybe we sort of found each other at a perfect time," he added. "It just seemed to work out."

Ushkowitz added: "We were in a different place with [co-creator] Ryan [Murphy], different place with the show. iHeart came and it was like, 'Yes, absolutely.' So I feel like the stars aligned in a way, and we were like, 'We're going to do it right this time.' We're really, really excited about this one."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

iHeartRadio is dropping new episodes of And That's What You REALLY Missed weekly across multiple podcast platforms.