Naya Rivera Reveals Ryan Dorsey’s Reaction To Secret Abortion

Former Glee star Naya Rivera has released her tell-all memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, and the new book is filled with shocking secrets from Rivera’s past. Perhaps one of the biggest shockers to come from Naya’s writings is the revelation that she had a secret abortion, which was something she kept from everyone, including Ryan Dorsey. Naya was dating Dorsey and had just broken it off with him at the time of the pregnancy, although the two would later reunite and eventually get married. In opening up about that abortion, Rivera talks about coming clean to Dorsey and the surprising way in which he reacted.

Glee Star Naya Rivera Talks About Dorsey’s Reaction To Her Abortion

2010 was a busy time for Naya Rivera with her spotlight shining brighter through her role on Glee, so her attention was focused almost exclusively on her career and, as E! News reports, Rivera felt that she didn’t have the time to devote to raising a child. For that reason, she chose to have the abortion and felt it was something she needed to keep secret, even from ex-boyfriend Ryan Dorsey. Later, Naya would find that she could have opened up to Dorsey without risking the recriminations she had expected.

“He said, ‘Uh you know, in the short time that we dated, I wish that I could have done something to make you feel like you could have trusted me with that information because I would have loved to have been there with you,'” Rivera recalled on The Real. “And I was like, ‘God, that’s amazing, thank you so much.'”

Naya adds that Ryan’s reaction was so kind and loving that it had endeared him to her that much more, and she says she still feels a tremendous amount of gratitude toward him for having been so supportive in that situation. Even so, there was no way Naya could have known what Dorsey’s reaction would have been, but she says she still felt compelled to talk openly about the abortion for her female fans. Ms. Rivera says she risked being judged by Dorsey and by the public, knowing it would be worth it if her experience helped other women dealing with similar experiences.

Naya Rivera On Her Feud With Glee Co-Star Lea Michele

According to US Weekly, Naya Rivera places the blame for the breakdown in her friendship with Lea Michele on the jealousy Lea exhibited as Rivera’s Glee character began to gain more screen time. As Naya rose in popularity, she says Ms. Michele was jealous of the greater development Glee writers gave to Naya’s Santana over Lea’s own Rachel character. Compounding the rivalry, Naya’s memoir reveals that her former Glee friend had difficulty keeping their onscreen and working relationships separate from their off-screen friendship.

“It seemed like she blamed me for anything and everything that went wrong,” says Rivera. “If I’d complained about anyone or anything, she assumed I was b—-ing about her. Soon she started to ignore me, and eventually it got to the point where she didn’t say a word to me for all of season six.”

Rivera also blames Michele for the failure of her friendship with Cory Montieth. She recalls that, as Lea and Cory began dating in 2011, the Glee actor began to change, particularly in the way he related to Naya. She says Montieth withdrew from their circle of friends and essentially became a completely different person.

In spite of blaming Ms. Michele for taking Montieth away from his friends and controlling his behavior, Rivera does admit that Lea did also impact Cory’s life in positive ways.

“My personal feelings for Lea aside, I knew that she wasn’t a partier, so I felt like maybe their relationship could actually be good for him,” admits Rivera. “I was happy for Cory to have a stable influence in his life, wherever it was he found it.”

[Image by Matthew Simmons/Getty Images]