Gloria Estefan says her 'heart ripped to shreds' over Naya Rivera's death

Gloria Estefan is remembering the pain she felt upon learning of the death of her "Glee" daughter Naya Rivera whom she remembers as the nicest person.

The singer played Maribel Lopez, the mother of Rivera's Santana Lopez, on the Fox musical comedy. Talking about the young star's death, Estefan said it is a "brutal loss" for someone who "was the nicest, warmest person." She remembered her co-star as a "lovely girl and a triple threat."

Estefan also shared how she reacted to news that Rivera was missing after a boat ride with her son. She said that she tried to come up with positive thoughts and hopeful explanations.

"I'm a boater. I've been on a boat with my small child and I was hoping maybe she'd gotten them up on the boat then somehow been caught up in the current and made it to shore," she said in an interview with ET,

"I was inventing all these scenarios that could have been. At the same time, knowing that baby had been alone for so long in the boat -- that didn't bode well," she added.

Estefan shared that her "heart ripped to shreds" when she saw Rivera's mum kneeling by the lake. She knows "what she had to be feeling and it's horrendous."

"I send a lot of prayers out to that family," she said.

The 62-year-old singer and actress also looked back at her time on "Glee." She called it a coincidence that in real life she is also a mother to a lesbian.

"What's an interesting thing, too, that I thought about later — I played her mother and [her character] came out in that show. And then, without even knowing [it]... that was going to be also me [in real life]," Estefan shared referring to her daughter Emily.

The Grammy-winner also paid tribute to Rivera in a past interview where she remembered her as "down to earth and warm." She also praised her "amazing chops."

Rivera died by accidental drowning on July 13 after she and her son Josey went on a boat ride at California's Lake Piru. She was laid to rest on July 24 at Hollywood Hills' Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery.