Naya Rivera and ex-husband Ryan Dorsey had a rocky relationship full of ups and downs. The Glee star was confirmed dead by authorities on Monday, July 13, after going for a boat ride on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, with her 4-year-old son, Josey, whom she shares with Dorsey.
The exes first surprised fans after they tied the knot in 2014, only three months after the actress broke off her engagement with ex-fiancé, Big Sean.
While it sounds like it was love at first sight, the former lovers actually dated four years before Rivera linked up with the “I Know” rapper. After splitting from Sean in April 2014, Rivera and Dorsey ran to the altar in Mexico in July of that year.
Rumors swirled that Rivera and Dorsey said “I do” on the same date she originally planned to marry Sean, but she denied those allegations in her 2016 memoir, Sorry Not Sorry. Revealing Dorsey reached out to her after her split from the rapper, she wrote, “Sean and I were supposed to get married in Santa Barbara, not Mexico, and Ryan and I didn’t get married on the same date — we got married on Ryan’s birthday. I bought a Carolina Herrera dress for my wedding with Sean and wore Monique Lhuillier when I married Ryan.”
A year into their marriage, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. They welcomed their son, Josey, in September 2015. After adding their baby boy to the family, they started to experience marital troubles. In November 2016, Rivera filed for divorce from the Ray Donovan star but had a change of heart one month later and called off their split.
Their reconciliation was sadly short-lived. The following year, Rivera was arrested and charged with domestic battery in November 2017 after Dorsey claimed she hit him in the head and face during an altercation. She was later released on $1,000 bond by her father-in-law. The domestic battery charges were dismissed in January 2018.
One month after their alleged brawl, Rivera refiled for divorce from Dorsey and the exes agreed to joint shared custody of their son. Their divorce was finalized in June 2018.
Although they parted ways, Rivera insisted they were “very good at coparenting,” in a 2017 interview with Momtastic. “We’re his parents. If everybody looks at it that way it alleviates some of the drama. Doing what’s best for Josey is really what it all boils down to.”
Scroll below to see a timeline of Rivera and Dorsey’s relationship.