Amber Riley is opening up about grieving her Glee costar Naya Rivera in the months since her death earlier this year.
Amber is HelloBeautiful's November cover star, and in her interview, she talked about what it's been like in the aftermath of Naya's passing. The actress died in July after disappearing at California's Lake Piru during a day out with her young son, Josey. Since then, fans and celebrities alike have spoken about Naya's impact on their lives.
“I think grieving is a never-ending thing,” she told HelloBeautiful. “Many people often think that grieving is a destination. Some days I think of her and I laugh and some days I think of her and I cry."
Naya is not the only friend Amber has lost this year. “I also lost an incredible friend to suicide this year who is an incredible writer and I was looking forward to working with her, Jas Waters. So that was really difficult,” she said. “She committed suicide and she died a couple of weeks before Naya so it was like a double blow.”
Now, Amber said she (along with Naya's friends and family) are here for Josey. Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan had previously announced last summer that they were starting a college fund for him to use when he gets older.
“It was very, very hard to come to terms with, but we’re making sure that we look out for her son because she was an incredible mother and if anybody knows Naya, she loved Josey,” Amber added. "She loved that boy and I’m looking after her mommy too.”
Amber Riley is also releasing music under the name RILEY, and she shared how making music has been a source of solace during this terrible year. “We need feeling, we need heart, especially with everything that we are going through," she said. "It was very interesting to me to see when coronavirus happened, everyone turned to the arts because we know that’s where you find healing and that’s where you find your peace.”
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