Glee's Heather Morris Shares Touching Tribute to Late Costar Naya Rivera on 4th Anniversary of Her Death

On Monday, the actress took to Instagram to reflect on her friendship with Rivera, and to honor her on the anniversary of her passing, sharing that her friend's death is still just as difficult years later.

Morris, 37, who played eventual wife Brittany alongside Rivera's Santana on Glee, shared a sweet black-and-white throwback photo that featured herself and Rivera cuddling.

"I can't believe it's been 4 years..boy how time flies," she began in the post's caption. "Yet every year I'm taken by surprise how much it still hurts. We grow up together, fell apart, and came back together in such a beautiful way. God you're missed so much…except I can't shake the feeling you never left…you're still here with us..guiding us to our highest potential."

"I miss you Nay Nay," she added.

Rivera died in July 2020 at the age of 33 after she accidentally drowned while on a boating trip with her young son in California. The actress went missing on July 8, 2020 on Lake Piru in Ventura County. Five days later, her body was recovered near where she and her son Josey had been on a boat ride.

An autopsy officially ruled her cause of death as an accidental drowning and officials concluded that she had pushed Josey back aboard the boat, saving his life before she died.

While speaking with E! News at the Critics Choice Real TV Awards last month, Glee alum Jane Lynch reflected on Rivera and Cory Monteith's heartbreaking deaths, sharing that their deaths left "a big hole in our lives." (Monteith passed way in July 2013 following an accidental drug overdose.)

"Just such youth," Lynch said. "They were so excited, as we all were. We knew that we were breathing rarefied air when the show became such a big hit."

"There's a big hole in our lives because of that," she added.