According to Naya's father George Rivera, five-year-old Josey is coping 'really well' following the tragic passing of the 'Glee' actress due to drowning last year.
- June 17, 2021
AceShowbiz - Naya Rivera's dad George has praised his "really strong" grandson Josey for the way he has dealt with his mother's death.
The "Glee" star died in July 2020 after going out on a boat trip on Lake Piru in California with her five-year-old son. After going for a swim, Josey was able to get back onto the boat, but Naya wasn't - and her body was discovered a few days later.
Following her death, Naya's sister Nickayla moved in with the actress' ex-husband Ryan Dorsey to help raise Josey, and George opened up in an interview with Entertainment Tonight about how he's been coping.
"Nickayla and Ryan, are doing a really great job," he said. "We handle him, and we talk to him just like he's a five-year-old going on 6. It's no different, but when he wants to talk about his mother, we talk about his mother, in conversation. He's growing up and handling it really well."
"It's not like you're talking about a ghost that's floating around, right? He's got memories as well, but boy is he coming around, right? Really strong kid."
George previously revealed he had warned Naya Rivera not to swim in the lake before her tragic death.
"She would always bounce stuff off me. And she wanted to go swimming with Josey out in the middle of the lake," he claimed, admitting he was alarmed when his daughter explained the boat didn't have an anchor.
"I could see the wind was blowing and my stomach was just cringing," he recalled. "I kept telling her, 'Don't get out of the boat! Don't get out of the boat! It will drift away when you're in the water.' It was just heartbreaking."
