Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey's Relationship: A Look Back at the Actors' Romance Before the “Glee” Star's Tragic Drowning

Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey had an on-and-off relationship for years before the two eventually divorced in 2018 — two years before the actress suddenly died from drowning.

The Glee actress and Justified actor first met in 2010 while Rivera was shooting the beloved Fox show and dated for varying periods of time. It wasn't until she broke off her engagement with Big Sean in April 2014 that the two rekindled their romance, marrying in an intimate wedding just three months later.

In September 2015, the former couple welcomed their son, Josey. However, the pair's relationship became strained soon after, leading Rivera to file for divorce in 2016 — though she had it dismissed months later. In 2017, she was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery after she allegedly hit Dorsey.

Rivera filed for divorce again shortly after, and Dorsey requested the charges to be dismissed. The two continued an amicable co-parenting relationship until, in 2020, Rivera suddenly died while trying to save her son during a boating trip. She was 33 years old.

Now, Dorsey has been raising Josey as a single dad, trying to keep Rivera's memory alive through her only child.

"We made this book of memories for Josey that sits by his bed, and during the holidays he was crying looking at it," Dorsey told PEOPLE in February 2025. "You can only give him a hug and tell him, 'I know, life is not fair. Bad things happen and there's no reason for it, and you just have to do your best to be a good person.' "

From how they met to how Dorsey honors Rivera's legacy today, here's everything to know about Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey's relationship.

Rivera's Glee costar encouraged them to talk to one another

Rivera and Dorsey first crossed paths in 2010 while the former was filming Glee — and it was her costar, Heather Morris, who encouraged her to make the first move.

During a night out, Morris approached Dorsey and told him, "My friend thinks you're cute. Go talk to her."

"I'm not the approaching type of guy," the actor told PEOPLE in February 2025. "So Naya finally walked up and said, 'What's your name?' That's how we started talking."

They dated on and off for years

The couple dated on and off for a number of years, however, Dorsey told PEOPLE he "always thought about her" even when they were apart.

"I thought she was someone that I could marry, because we were just so silly and we got each other," he said.

During one of their breaks, Rivera began dating rapper Big Sean in April 2013 before the two were engaged six months later. However, by April 2014, the pair called off their engagement — and three months later she married Dorsey.

"The girl I was talking to would always see these headlines or pay attention to TMZ, and she knew of our history, so she was like, 'Oh, did you see what happened to your girl?' " Dorsey recalled of when he found out Rivera was single again.

He continued, "I forget what the drama was, but I reached out. I sent an email, like, 'Hey, I saw this happened. I hope you're doing all right.' She responded, 'Where are you?' We met up and had dinner, and that was kind of the catalyst for us starting to get back together."

Rivera and Dorsey wed in 2014

On July 19, 2014, Rivera and Dorsey got married in an intimate ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

“We feel truly blessed to be joined as husband and wife,” the couple told PEOPLE exclusively at the time. “Our special day was fated and everything we could have ever asked for.”

Rivera wore a Monique Lhuillier gown while Dorsey donned a Dolce & Gabbana suit, and the two exchanged Neil Lane rings.

They welcomed a child a year after they got married

During one of their breaks, Rivera found out she was pregnant with Dorsey's child and got an abortion, but didn't tell him at the time.

“When I made that decision, I made it by myself, as I feel is the case for a lot of women, and I did not share it with Ryan at the time,” Rivera explained during a 2016 episode of The Real. “By the time we sort of reconnected, I was like, gosh, there’s a reason why you keep coming back in my life and we keep coming back together. It was like, ‘I have to tell you something.’ ”

She added that Dorsey's "kind" reaction "made [her] love him that much more.” Years later, Dorsey told PEOPLE that he had told Rivera he wished she had trusted him with the information so he could have helped her through the process.

Shortly after getting married, the two found out they were expecting, and Dorsey said he viewed the news as a "second chance."

"I've had tears of joy three times in my life," he said. "The first time was my first job when I booked Parks and Recreation. I had five lines. The second time I had tears of joy was when they said, 'It's a boy.' Every guy wants a boy, right? The third time was our wedding."

Josey Hollis Dorsey was born on Sept. 17, 2015. Rivera announced the happy news on X, thanking her fans for their well wishes.

Rivera and Dorsey split in 2018

Following their son's birth, Rivera and Dorsey went through a rough patch in 2016 when Rivera filed for divorce but dismissed the filing months later. In 2017, she was arrested in West Virginia over Thanksgiving weekend after Dorsey called 911 about Rivera’s alleged “out of control” behavior and requested that a police officer be dispatched.

He alleged that she had hit him while taking their son for a walk. However, two months later, her charges of misdemeanor domestic battery were dropped after Dorsey declined to press prosecution on her.

Rivera filed for divorce again shortly after the incident on Dec. 5, 2017, and the proceedings were finalized in June 2018.

Dorsey is raising their son as a single father after Rivera's death

Following their split, Dorsey and Rivera "always put Josey first," the former told PEOPLE in February 2025, and never "had any real turmoil about raising him together."

On July 8, 2020, Rivera and Josey, who was 4 at the time, rented a pontoon boat on a trip to Lake Piru in Ventura County, Calif. After the two were swimming in the lake together, the star noticed the boat was drifting and told her son to swim back to it.

Josey remembers grabbing “the tanks” and pulling himself “around the boat,” Dorsey said. The boy tried to throw his mom a rope to get her up too, but was too scared to after seeing a "big spider" on it, though Dorsey reassured him that the rope wasn't "long enough" anyway. The incident report ruled that Rivera drowned after exhausting herself getting Josey back on the boat.

“He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore," Dorsey said. "It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments.”

Now, Dorsey has been raising Josey alone, moving to West Virginia, his home state, in 2023 to work remotely and save money.

"I'm a single parent, I'm the only one earning money for Josey," he said. "Everyone thinks that if she was successful, and if I'm on TV, that you have a bunch of money, but no one really knows the financial situation. I didn't leave L.A. because we were just sitting on a bunch of money."

Dorsey continues to honor Rivera's memory for their son

Though Dorsey and Rivera were split up at the time of Rivera's death, the two had a strong relationship — and Dorsey continues to honor her years later.

"It's hard trying to explain things that you can't really make sense of no matter what age you are," he told PEOPLE of trying to comfort his son following his mother's death. "I'm not a big believer in everything happens for a reason because I can't ever think of a reason why he doesn't have his mom."

Still, Dorsey has said he tries to raise Josey the way Rivera would have — including a big bash for his 10th birthday in 2025 that would have made Rivera, an ardent party planner, “proud."

Read the original article on People