'Riverdale' Series Finale: Vanessa Morgan's Real-Life Son River Makes Surprise Cameo
Spoiler alert! If you haven't seen the series finale of Riverdale, proceed with caution.
Vanessa Morgan’s 2-year-old son, River, helped his mom say goodbye to her character Toni on Riverdale.
During Wednesday's series finale, Betty (Lili Reinhart) narrated Cheryl (Madeleine Petsch) and Toni’s journey after they left Riverdale. In a scene from the flash forward, the couple holds their adopted son, Dale, who was played by Morgan’s actual son.
In July 2020, Morgan announced she was pregnant on Instagram, and made no mention of Michael Kopech, whom she married in January 2020. Days later, news broke that Kopeck had filed for divorce from Morgan on June 19, 2020. Kopech, a professional baseball player, also took time off from playing for the Chicago White Sox during that season due to "personal reasons."
Morgan revealed River's name in the post, alongside a photo of his tiny hand.
"The most challenging, beautiful experience of my life. On January 29th, Michael & I Welcomed our beautiful baby boy River into the world," Morgan wrote. "Words cannot describe this kind of love. We are enjoying this time home with him, being present, & giving him all the lovin in the world🤍👶🏼 Becoming parents is the most rewarding gift in the entire world. Thankyou God. 🙏🏽 Isaiah 66:9."
Fans and friends sent congratulations in the comments, while Morgan's Riverdale co-star, Reinhart, wrote, "His aunts and uncles can't wait to meet him!!"
In June, while filming the final episodes of Riverdale, Morgan expressed how important having River on set with her was. "Getting to share Riverdale, one of the biggest journeys of my life, with my son, brings tears to my eyes. I’ll cherish these memories forever. ♥️," she wrote on Instagram.
Over the course of seven seasons, Riverdalehas told a lot of wild stories involving time travel, multiple universes, supernatural forces, and more generally surreal weirdness than one might expect from a teen drama on The CW.
However, when the long-running series came to a close on Wednesday, the show wrapped everything up with an emotional, heartfelt story in which everyone was dead.
"It has a bittersweet feeling to it," Reinhart told ET at the Women in Film Honors Gala in October. "I think I'm kind of just trying to approach this season with not taking anything for granted, really trying to be present, trying to enjoy my co-stars. So, it's different for me at least."
As for whether she's taking anything from the show's set, Reinhart said that the experience and the memories are enough.
"I don't want to hoard anything," Reinhart insisted. "I have literally, the episodes, the hundred-plus episodes that I've done. I don't need anything physical. I'm taking the experience with me."
Meanwhile, Camila Mendes, who starred as Veronica Lodge on the series, predicted that she'd be "so emotional" when Riverdale wrapped its final season.
"I've grown up with these people," Mendes told ET last September. "I spent my entire 20s with them, so we've really been through so much together." x
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