Tahj Mowry has paid tribute to his ex Naya Rivera on the first anniversary of her death.
The actress, who played Santana Lopez in the hit TV series Glee, tragically drowned on July 8 last year while swimming with her son Josey at Lake Piru in Southern California.
Tahj, who dated Naya on-and-off in their teens, opened up about her death to E! News ahead of her anniversary.
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The actor said: “Yes, I have my own feelings and emotions about her and what happened but they can’t relate [to what her immediate family has gone through].”
“I want to give respect to their grief and they’re family to me and always have…I’m just thankful that I am still able to keep in contact with them.”
Speaking about how he plans on marking Naya’s anniversary, Tahj revealed: “I’m probably just going to spend some time with her where she is right now at her site.”
“I’ve been there before, obviously, but I think that’s the main thing that I want to do.”
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Gushing over his ex, the 34-year-old said: “She never switched up, you know? She was always Naya—unapologetically Naya in the best way possible. And I think anyone that knows her would agree with that.”
“She was just so special on so many levels. We basically grew up together and grew into adulthood together, so for me to say she never switched up, it means that holds heavy.”
“And she was just real all the time and just Naya. She was so talented, always. And I think anyone that met her knew that right away just because of who she was and the talents that she had.”
“I think for someone who reached such a level of stardom like she did and someone that grew up in the industry, for her to never change or switch up means a lot. It speaks a lot to her character. And I just think that that’s just one of many things that I, I’m honored to have known someone like that.”
Naya was declared missing on July 8, after her then 4-year-old son Josey was found sleeping on their rented pontoon boat in the middle of Lake Piru.
Five days later, the 33-year-old’s body was found – leaving her family, friends and fans devastated.
The Glee star was laid to rest in a private funeral attended by her family at Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in the Hollywood Hills on July 24.
Naya welcomed her son Josey with her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, who she was married to from 2014 until 2018.
