Ryan Dorsey Penned a Heartbreaking Letter to Naya Rivera One Year After Her Funeral

Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey
Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey
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Joe Scarnici, Getty Images

It would be an understatement to say the month of July has been a hard one for Ryan Dorsey and his son, Josey, whom he shares with the late Naya Rivera. Dorsey was married to the Glee star for four years until their split in 2018. A year has passed since the tragic death and funeral of the late actress, and in a heartbreaking, emotional letter shared to Instagram, Dorsey is filling Rivera in on the last year and more importantly, assuring her that Josey is "being raised right, and he's got a lot of family and people around him that love him."

Alongside a black and white collage of Rivera and Josey, he wrote, "Today…A year ago we laid you to rest. I still can't believe it. The year has flown by, so fast that it doesn't seem like it's been a year at all. Our boy has grown so much. He's such an explorer, so inquisitive. He's sweet, so funny, and his laugh always lights up the room. He's an intuitive soul to say the least. To know him is to love him, everyone that meets him is always smiling. He's doing ok. He's such a resilient strong kid. He misses you but knows he'll see you again, and the invisible string is something that's helped us out during this ever-evolving transition of your time with us on earth that was unfairly & for reasons we'll never understand cut short…too soon…"

Dorsey went on to explain that "July will probably always be a strange and difficult month" in their lives, but as Josey's father, he's determined to recount the memories "with what is the brightest star of your legacy left on this earth," their 5-year-old son. For now, the photos and videos are too hard to see, yet he knows Rivera's strength will be by his side when the time does come.

The dad shared the significance behind the thumbs up pose, noting it as a gesture Rivera and Josey often exchanged whenever he was practicing jiu jitsu. "Maybe it's silly and doesn't make sense to be doing this on IG and putting this out there, but so is this whole thing. So there's that…" he added.

Dorsey concluded, "Fly high, Rest In Peace, knowing he's doing ok…he's being raised right, and he's got a lot of family and people around him that love him, and you."

Before signing off the post, Dorsey took a moment to recognize those who are also grieving loved ones. He wrote, "For everyone out there that's gone through similar events of loss…you know there's not really any words that make it better…we know some days are better than others…but know our hearts and energy are with you. We keep going, because that's all we can do while being as strong as we can be."

Our hearts are with Ryan and Josey and Rivera's whole family during this difficult time.