The actor shared two beautiful photos of him and the late 'Glee' actress.
Tahj Mowry is mourning Naya Rivera's death. The 34-year-old actor posted two black-and-white candid photographs of him and the late Glee star on his Instagram on Wednesday, expressing his love for Rivera, whose body was found Monday after she went missing on a boating trip with her son last week.
In the first photo, Rivera is seen with her hands up and dancing with Mowry. "You will forever be my all time favorite dance partner. I love you," the former Baby Daddy star captioned his pic.
In a second photo, which appears to be from the same night, the two are cozied up and smiling.
"Rest in power and peace Naya Marie," he wrote.
The tribute comes days after Mowry professed his love for the then-missing star, expressing that he never stopped loving her.
"My sweet Naya - to say that I am devastated would be an understatement. This is a nightmare. Everyday gets harder. However, I am holding onto hope that you will be found," Mowry began, explaining how they grew up and became adults together. "We experienced so many firsts together. You were my first experience with everything; love, intimacy, heartbreak. We broke each others hearts and then mended them back together...more than once."
"I will never not think of you. No woman has ever measured up what you gave me or how you made me feel. I’ve never liked to admit it but I have never stopped loving you," he confessed. "A part of me always wished for the day where God would bring us back together to be what we dreamt we could have been."
The actor didn't reveal when they dated. However, Mowry and Rivera were both child actors. The Step Up: High Water actress was a guest star on Mowry's show Smart Guy in 1997 and 1999, and they kept in touch thereafter.
Rivera was taking an afternoon boat ride with her 4-year-old son, Josey, at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, last Wednesday before the tragic accident. Josey was found safe on the boat, and Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub revealed in a press conference on Monday that authorities speculate that Rivera drowned after boosting her son onto the boat after a swim.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Tuesday that it was Rivera's body they discovered, as well as announced that the cause of death was drowning by accident.
Following her tragic death, friends, fans and former co-stars have taken to social media to express their condolences. Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan paid tribute to the late star -- and promised to set up a college fund for her son.
Her family also released a statement, expressing how grateful they were "for the outpouring of love and prayers for Naya, Josey and our family over the past week."
For more on Rivera's tragic death, watch below.
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