On Sunday, August 9, Heather Morris shared an emotional video with fans and explained how she was coping following the death of her close friend and former costar Naya Rivera.

“I have been feeling really heavy lately. I’ve been feeling this, like, aching in my heart to connect with my fans, to connect with everybody who’s been feeling a little lost and a little confused during this time,” the 33-year-old shared during the video message, which was captioned, “You’re not alone.”

She went on to talk about the “importance” of her Glee character, Brittany, and Naya’s character, Santana, and how to some fans, their love story was a “gateway” into their current life.

“Most of you felt like it was an inspiration to become your best self, and I want you to know that was never lost on me. It was never lost on Naya,” she said. “We both knew how special that was. I think she knew a little bit more than I did. I really felt it a lot later, with all the messages and all the people reaching out and many of the writers also knew that as well. They were basically writing for the fans.”

The actress started to cry while telling fans that she felt a “deep need to connect” with them.

“I just know how important our relationship was to you all and I know a lot of you feel very lost and very far away from what happened, maybe a little bit confused and that’s completely normal,” Heather added. “I want to thank all the fans for your love and support. And want you to know that we are all here with you, that grief looks different on everybody, and I want you to be gentle and kind to yourself during this time.”

Before concluding her message, the dancer explained how she’s been coping with Naya’s death. As fans know, police told Us Weekly that she had rented a motorized pontoon boat on July 8, 2020. But when they found her 4-year-old son, Josey, alone in the boat, she was reported missing. Then, five days later, on July 13, 2020, authorities confirmed that they found Naya’s body in the lake and that she had sadly passed away.

“Something that’s helped me is to write a letter or talk to her and so I hope that helps,” the blonde beauty concluded. “But I really just wanted to connect to you guys and tell you how much I love and appreciate all of you. That’s it, that’s all I’ve got besides my tears.”

Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.