Naya Rivera’s Ex Ryan Dorsey Addresses Rumors He Dated Her Sister

Ryan Dorsey is addressing rumors that he dated Naya Rivera’s sister, Nickayla Rivera, following the actress’ tragic death.

“[Nickayla] was such a big help,” Dorsey, 41, told People in an interview published on Thursday, February 13. “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 added, “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.”

After Naya died by drowning in July 2020, Dorsey and the exes’ son moved in with Nickayla for only one year. According to Dorsey, the living arrangement in Los Angeles was temporary to help Josey, now 9, adjust to his new reality.

At the time, photos of Dorsey and Nickayla, now 30, holding hands soon sparked rumors that they started romantically seeing one another.

“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,” Dorsey recalled to the outlet. “That was the only time I’ve ever addressed anything on social media because it was just so insane.”

In a social media statement at the time, Dorsey revealed that Josey requested that they also live with his aunt.

“He asked me if Titi could live with us. ‘I want Titi to live with us forever’ because she’s now the closest thing that he has to a mom,” Dorsey wrote in September 2020. “Because you’re gonna need all the help you can get as a single parent trying to build your career and navigate this disaster with your child. And, um, you deal with it every hour of every day for 80-plus days now.”

He added, “And to have to let him get what he wants, you know, what he asks for and what he needs right now, which is his family. Even though you know it’s temporary and it’s not forever. It’s a temporary situation and after all that he’s had to go through, how could you deny him that?”

Nickayla also addressed the speculation that month.

“In the darkest time of my life, the only thing that is important is my friends and family. Showing up for my nephew, even though I can’t show up for myself,” Nickayla wrote via her Instagram Stories. “I’m not concerned with the way things look because no one can see each agonizing moment we all endure. What matters most I’ve learned, is to show compassion, not to judge others and never take a moment of life for granted. I hope you all can do the same.”

Naya, who was married to Dorsey from 2014 to 2018, died after an accidental drowning when renting a boat on Lake Piru at the age of 33 with Josey, then 5. Dorsey and Josey have since relocated from L.A. to the actor’s native West Virginia.

“When we were living in L.A. for the two years after Naya’s death, I was auditioning in my garage, rent was $6,000 a month, and it’s, like, I’m getting nothing for Josey’s future,” Dorsey told People. “It didn’t make sense to stay because COVID changed our industry to where all my auditions were on tape, and I can audition in a garage anywhere. West Virginia is just a completely different place. There’s not much to do, but it feels safe and there’s no traffic.”

Despite moving across the country, Dorsey and Josey are still in contact with the late Glee alum’s relatives.

“I love her family so much: her dad, her mom, her sister [and] her brother. We all get along so good and we’re all still close,” he stressed in the Thursday interview. “We’re, obviously, even closer now, and we stay at Grandma’s. [Josey] really close to both sides of his family, and we make sure of that.”