Who Is Naya Rivera’s Ex-Husband Ryan Dorsey?
“Glee” star Naya Rivera has been missing since July 8, after a pontoon boat with her child on it was discovered on Lake Piru outside of Los Angeles, but she was not located. Authorities continue to search for the 33-year-old actress and mother.
According to authorities, Naya’s child Josey, 4, was found safe on the boat. Naya shared Josey with her ex-husband, actor Ryan Dorsey. So who is Ryan? Here are some facts you need to know:
West Virginia Beginnings
Ryan was born on July 19, 1983, in Charleston, West Virginia. “I was an athlete,” he told his hometown paper, the Charleston-Gazette Mail. “I played football, basketball. I loved basketball.” After suffering a facial injury during a high school football game, he was encouraged to try out for a school play, “Night of January 16,” by Ayn Rand, and discovered a love for acting. He spent one year at Western Carolina University, before moving to New York City and getting accepted to The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.
WATCH: ‘Glee’ Stars & Celebrities Share Concern For Naya Rivera After She Went Missing At Lake
TV Star
Ryan is a TV star who has appeared in several big shows such as “The Vampire Diaries,” “Ray Donovan,” “Yellowstone,” “Justified” and more. He was last seen in the ABC series “The Rookie” in an episode titled “Now and Then.”
Surprise Wedding
Ryan and Naya surprised everyone when they secretly wed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on July 19, 2014. Naya was previously engaged to rapper Big Sean, and announced their engagement in Oct. 2013. Naya and Sean had a bitter split in April 2014 and soon after she started dating Ryan. Naya and Ryan were wed on the same date she had set for her wedding to Big Sean. A source revealed to US Weekly at the time, “Naya didn’t tell most of her friends that she was marrying Ryan Dorsey, let alone that she was dating him! The whole thing is a complete surprise.” In another surprise twist, Ryan and Naya previously dated before her relationship with Big Sean started in April 2013. In her 2016 book, “Sorry Not Sorry,” Naya wrote about Ryan, “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.”
READ: Naya Rivera Shares Wedding Photo On Valentine’s Day
Marriage Trouble
Ryan’s marriage with Naya was troubled. Rivera filed for divorce two years after their nuptials in Nov. 2016, and then withdrew her divorce petition in Oct. 2017. A month later, the pair were in the news as Rivera was arrested and charged in Kanawha County, West Virginia, with misdemeanor domestic battery against Dorsey after she allegedly hit him in the head during an altercation over their child.
— ryan dorsey (@DorseyRyan) November 28, 2017
Ryan tweeted about the incident writing, “This is a difficult time for everyone in the family especially for Naya and I. This isn’t some reality show, this is our life, and I ask that everyone especially ‘the media’ please respect our privacy and treat us/this situation how you would want a loved one to be treated. Perhaps with kindness, respect, without judgement, and as negative a situation like this is, with positivity and love. Thanks.”
Divorce Proceedings
Naya refiled for divorce in Dec. 2017 just over a week after her arrest, and later agreed to share joint custody of their son. Dorsey dropped the domestic battery charges in Jan. 2018 and did not press charges.
Ryan is a devoted dad to his 4-year-old son, Josey. The actor recently shared a sweet tribute on Instagram to his son on Father’s Day, writing alongside a series of pics, “Happy Fathers Day from my gang to yours out there!? Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year is never promised. Be grateful for yours if they’re still around – especially during these crazy times we’re all living through✌️❤️?Josey I love you so much, you are the sunshine & joy of my life, proud to be your daddy?.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBuCB7Vgzcx/