The pair dated and got engaged in 2013, before calling off their engagement in 2014.
Big Sean is mourning Naya Rivera's death. The 32-year-old rapper, who was previously engaged to the late Glee actress, broke his silence on Friday, paying tribute to his ex-fiancee in an emotional post.
"Rest In Peace Naya, God Bless your Soul! Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. you are a hero!" Big Sean began. "Not just because of how you saved your son, also because of the barriers you knocked down for so many people to make them feel confident in themselves and to stand tall and be proud when they couldn’t achieve that on their own."
He continued by adding that he appreciates and cherishes "everything that ever happened between us, for making me wiser and a better person."
"I’m still grieving and in shock, I can’t believe this is real. I’m praying for you and your family and I know your [sic] watching over them and protecting them. Rest In Peace Naya ???," he concluded.
Rivera was found dead in Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, on July 13, following a boating trip with her 4-year-old son, Josey, the week prior.
The rapper and actress started dating in April 2013, and got engaged in October of that year. Six months after he proposed, he and Rivera ended their engagement in 2014. "Sean wishes Naya nothing but the best and it is still his hope that they can continue to work through their issues privately," Big Sean's rep said in a statement at the time.
Despite their split, Rivera told ET in 2016 that she didn't have any regrets about their relationship, and that it didn't work out because Big Sean "wasn't Ryan [Dorsey]," with whom she tied the knot in 2014, after having dated years prior. Rivera and Dorsey welcomed their son in 2015. The pair finalized their divorce in June 2018.
Meanwhile, ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with Captain Jeremy Paris, who was in charge of the search for Rivera following her disappearance. Paris explained that Rivera helped her son back up on the boat before she went missing.
"We know that she was out with her 4-year-old boy and she was swimming," Paris told ET. "We know he was wearing a life vest and she wasn't. We know that she was able to, and she did, assist him onto the boat. And then for some unknown reason -- and I don't think we will ever know -- she was not able to get on the boat herself."
For more on Rivera, watch below.
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