Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey‘s little boy is growing up so fast!
On Saturday, June 19, the late Glee actress’ ex-husband posted a photo of himself with their 5-year-old son Josey Hollis Dorsey, celebrating the child’s graduation from pre-kindergarten.
“Fresh outta Pre-K boy! Next Up Kindergarten! #summertime #proudDad,” Ryan, 37, wrote alongside the pic, which shows him crouching and kissing the boy, who is sitting on a chair, grinning in a black cap and gown.
Josey, who is expected to start school in August, has been living with his father for almost a year. In July 2020, Naya drowned in California’s Lake Piru during a boating trip with her son. She was 33.
Ryan has often posted photos of Josey on Instagram. Earlier this week, the Big Sky actor shared a sweet selfie of the two playing on a float in a swimming pool. Then in May, on the first Mother’s Day since Naya’s death, Ryan paid tribute to the late actress with a never-before-seen photo of her with their son.
“We can’t say the word happy,” Ryan wrote, “but we’ll say thank you for being a mother & giving me this sweet amazing boy.”
See adorable photos of Josey below:
Instagram / Ryan Dorsey“Fresh outta Pre-K boy!” Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey wrote on Instagram in June 2021. “Next Up Kindergarten! #summertime #proudDad”
Instagram / Ryan DorseyNaya’s ex Ryan Dorsey has a fun pool day with their son in June 2021.
“We can’t say the word happy but we’ll say thank you for being a mother & giving me this sweet amazing boy,” Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey wrote on Mother’s Day 2021, the first since the actress’ July 2020 death, alongside this never-before-seen mother-son photo.
“Happy Mother’s Day Grammy…” Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey wrote on Instagram on Mother’s Day 2021. “Thanks for all the support, unconditional love, all the help, your patience, thoughtfulness, and everything you do. We [red heart emoji] you.”
Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey shared this adorable throwback pic of Josey with their two dogs in March 2021.
In January 2021, Ryan Dorsey paid tribute to his ex on what would have been her 34th birthday with this throwback family photo.
“Just as surreal as it is real that you’re gone,” he wrote. “If that makes sense, but none of this still makes any sense…34..I could just hear you saying “Ah, I’m old AF now!” Ha…Rest easy old lady…”
The two celebrate their first Christmas since Naya’s death five months prior.
Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey shared this photo of the late actress and their son, their only child, two weeks after she drowned during a boating trip with the boy.
“This is so unfair…there’s not enough words to express the hole left in everyone’s hearts,” Ryan wrote on Instagram. “I can’t believe this is life now. I don’t know if I’ll ever believe it. You were just here… We were just in the back swimming with Josey the day before. Life just isn’t fair.”
He continued, “I don’t know what to say…I’m thankful for our times and our journey that brought us together and gave us the sweetest and kindest smart little boy we could ever hope for. I remember sometimes you used to get annoyed at me: ‘Ryan can you stop snap chatting!’ Haha. I’m glad I didn’t listen to you because I have hundreds and probably thousands of snaps and videos that Josey will have forever and know his momma loved him more than life, and how much fun we had together as he was growing up. Life is all about good times and bad times but with Josey it makes the bad a little less so because a part of you will always be with us. He’ll never forget where he came from. We miss you. We will always love you. Love you Meep.”
Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey shared this pic of himself with Josey and one of their dogs, less than three weeks before the actress’ death.
Naya’s ex Ryan Dorsey shared this family pic on New Year’s Day 2020, seven months before the actress’ death.
“Practice in WalMart makes perfect,” Josey’s dad Ryan Dorsey wrote on Instagram in November 2019.
Josey and dad Ryan Dorsey celebrate Halloween with matching Toy Story costumes.
Why so ssssserious? The two also dressed up as the Joker and Batman from The Dark Knight.
Just last week, Rivera shared this photo of her cuddling with her little one. “Just the two of us,” she captioned the image.
The mother-son duo made a stylish pair in this March 2020 photo.
“Batman and Batgirl,” Rivera wrote in November 2019. “Perfect duo.”
“I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be,” the Glee star wrote in September 2019. “Happy birthday Josey! Love Mommy.”
The two attended the Los Angeles premiere of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in February 2019.
“Camel ridin with my main man!” Rivera wrote in November 2018.
“We win!” the celeb, who played Santana on Glee, wrote alongside a photo of their 2018 costumes. “#HappyHalloween.”
The two rocked out to “Can’t Stop the Feeling” in this adorable March 2018 video.
“Nap buddies,” the proud parent wrote alongside this March 2018 photo.
“[Love] you to the moon and back,” Rivera wrote in February 2017. “#Vday.”
“[Every day] with him is the most special. #joseysmommy #happymothersday,” she wrote in 2016.
Rivera shared a behind-the-scenes photo from their Fit Pregnancy and Baby shoot in April 2016.
“Coolin’ at Petco Park,” Rivera wrote in March 2016.
