Nickayla Rivera Says She Emerged from a 'Dark Place' After Sister Naya Rivera's Death

Nickayla Rivera is opening up about the loss of her sister, Naya Rivera.

On Monday (January 10), the 28-year-old model shared a new video to her YouTube channel, where she reflected on the changes she’s gone through since her sister’s tragic death in 2020.

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“My family and I experienced a tragic loss in July of 2020, my sister Naya passed away,” she said. “And when that happened, I was in complete shock. My whole family was in complete shock. It was like someone pulled the rug from under us and we didn’t see it coming. The dark place that I was in before only progressed when that happened. At that time, I had no thoughts of my future. I had no thoughts of myself really. I was only just experiencing pain.”

Naya‘s death was confirmed July 13, 2020 after a five-day search by authorities. She was first reported missing during a boat trip in California’s Lake Piru with her son Josey Dorsey, who was 4 years old at the time.

“I realized that the pain that I was experiencing, wasn’t going to go anywhere until I decided to find the good in this world,” she continued. “So, from then on, I went on this journey of discovering who I was. I started by quitting my vape that I had been smoking for two years. I had picked it up in New York and I knew that it was because of stress. And I was doing it so much that I wanted to stop immediately but I kept buying them over and over again. Because I had such an attachment to that. And quitting. That was really hard. But when I did, I felt so empowered.”

“I felt like I could do anything after that,” she added. “I picked up journaling and started writing about my feelings. I started therapy. I said no to doing a lot of things that I didn’t want to do, but normally would for other people. I started putting myself first. I became mindful and observed how I felt each day.”

Watch her full video down below.

Naya‘s ex-husband Ryan Dorsey posted a moving tribute to the Glee actress on the one-year anniversary of her being laid to rest.