Naya Rivera's Ex Ryan Dorsey Finally Opens Up About Romance Rumors With Her Sister!

Ryan Dorsey is finally addressing the speculation he struck up a relationship with Naya Rivera’s sister after her tragic passing.

It’s difficult to wrap our minds around the fact that this year marks the fifth anniversary of Naya’s tragic drowning death. She lost her life while saving son Josey during a fun mother-son boat trip Lake Piru in 2020.

And just like that, her ex-husband Ryan was suddenly a single parent. But amid the heartache, it seemed like something really surprising was happening. A few weeks after her death, reports started to emerge that Ryan was in a relationship with Naya’s sister Nickayla River!

She’d reportedly moved in to help raise her nephew, and speculation quickly took hold more was going on. Why? The pair were spotted seemingly holding hands while out on a shopping trip. But was there really romance? Or were they just platonic family members working together to take care of their poor little guy? Well, Ryan is finally offering some clarity — and he claims it’s the latter!

During an interview with People published on Thursday, the 41-year-old explained:

“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.”

Inneresting.

So he’s saying there wasn’t anything at all. We’re still not sure we buy that. But we also aren’t jumping to the CRAY conclusions some folks did! Recalling the storm of social media speculation at the time, the Ryan says some unhinged fans started spreading rumors he and Nickayla had something to do with Naya’s death:

“People were tagging the FBI. Just f**king insane.”

That truly is insane… And so sad that people’s minds would go there! It’s one thing to speculate about a romance about two people, but to try and pin a death conspiracy on the pair is just wild!

As far as living together, Ryan told the outlet it was ALL platonic — and all for Josey:

“[Nickayla] was such a big help. 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. She served as somewhat of a female figure and helped be the other voice of reason.”

He added:

“It was very surreal sometimes because the way she would say things to Josey would sound like his mom.”

Awww. That must have been so bittersweet for both him and Josey.

At the time of all the speculation, Ryan took to social media to address fans who were posting angrily at him about it. He wrote:

“[Josey] 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. 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. 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 rumors the same 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. 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.”

Notably, neither of them technically denied any romantic involvement, something that struck us as odd at the time. But we guess we’re lucky we got ANYTHING! In his Thursday interview, Ryan added: