Ryan Dorsey tells Naya Rivera their son Josey is 'doing OK' in poignant message marking anniversary of her funeral

Ryan Dorsey has written a poignant note to his late ex-wife, Glee star Naya Rivera, to mark one year since the actress was laid to rest. Rivera drowned last July after taking their son, Josey, swimming in California's Lake Piru; her body was recovered five days after the 33-year-old was reported missing.

In his Instagram post, Dorsey, who was married to Rivera from 2014 to 2018, reflected on her death and gave an update on Josey, now 5.

"A year ago we laid you to rest," he wrote. "I still can’t believe it. The year has flown by, so fast that it doesn’t seem like it’s been a year at all. Our boy has grown so much. He’s such an explorer, so inquisitive. He’s sweet, so funny and his laugh always lights up the room. He’s an intuitive soul to say the least. To know him is to love him, everyone that meets him is always smiling. He’s doing OK. He’s such a resilient, strong kid. He misses you but knows he’ll see you again, and the invisible string is something that’s helped us out during this ever-evolving transition of your time with us on earth that was unfairly and for reasons we’ll never understand cut short… too soon…"

He continued, "July will probably always be a strange and difficult month in the years that are hopefully plentiful in the future… still hard to see photos, still haven’t been able to read or watch anything… as the years go by strength will be on my side as I will share the memories with what is the brightest star of your legacy left on this earth, our beautiful son, Josey."

Dorsey's post included photos of Josey both with his mother and in present day, flashing a thumbs up. His note to Rivera reflected the significance of the gesture as he wrote, "I remember the first time he did it back to you. At jujitsu, you gave him a thumbs up and he returned the gesture…i t was so sweet. Maybe it’s silly and doesn’t make sense to be doing this on IG and putting this out there, but so is this whole thing."

Dorsey added, "Fly high, rest in peace, knowing he’s doing OK… He’s being raised right, and he’s got a lot of family and people around him that love him, and you."

The 37-year-old actor ended his message with a note of solidarity to others who may be grieving.

"For everyone out there that’s gone through similar events of loss… you know there’s not really any words that make it better," he wrote. "We know some days are better than others… but know our hearts and energy are with you. We keep going, because that’s all we can do while being as strong as we can be."

Earlier this month, Rivera's family spoke about the "absolute hell" of searching for her after Josey, then 4, was discovered safe but alone on a drifting boat his mother had rented for their lake excursion. Rivera's sister Nickayla, also opened up about moving in with Dorsey to help him raise the young boy.

"I'm very grateful to be able to help him transition into whatever he's going to be next," she shared during an appearance on Good Morning America on the one-year anniversary of her sister's death. "I knew right when it happened, right when we got him, I knew the role that I had to take. That was a big change, and something that I had to get used to too."