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Lea Michele Honors Late Boyfriend and ‘Glee’ Costar Cory Monteith on 9th Anniversary of His Death

Lea Michele Honors Cory Monteith on the Anniversary of His Death
Lea Michele and Cory Monteith. Gregory Pace/Shutterstock; Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Gone but never forgotten. Lea Michele posted a tribute to honor her late ex Cory Monteith on the ninth anniversary of his death.

Related: How Lea Michele Has Honored Cory Monteith Each Year Since His Death: Photos

Michele, 35, shared a throwback photo of her and Monteith gazing lovingly at each other via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, July 13. In the snapshot, the New Year’s Eve actress is carrying flowers and wearing a blue dress while her former Glee costar dons a suit. Michele added a heart emoji below the picture.

Monteith died at the age of 31 from an accidental drug and alcohol overdose on July 13, 2013. The actor was found in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The British Columbia Coroners service confirmed to Us Weekly in a statement at the time that Monteith “died of a mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol.”

Throughout his life, the Monte Carlo actor was candid about his struggles with drug addiction. “I was out of control,” he told Parade in 2011. Monteith, who first went to rehab at age 19, added that he was using “anything and everything as much as possible. I had a serious problem.”

The Sisters & Brothers star was in a relationship with Michele at the time of his death. The pair met while filming Glee, which ran from 2009 to 2015. Their characters, Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson, had an on-again, off-again romance throughout the show. Michele and Monteith went public with their off-screen romance in 2012.

Related: 'Glee' Cast's Dating Histories Through the Years

“No one knows me better than Cory,” the former Spring Awakening star told Marie Claire in January 2013, six months before her costar’s untimely death. “No one knows what it’s been like to go through this more than he does. Feeling like you have that net underneath you allows you to jump higher and go farther. He makes me feel like I can do anything. For the first time in my life, I feel really, really settled and happy. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”

After Monteith’s passing, a source close to Michele told Us that she “didn’t know” her beau had relapsed after his April 2013 stint in rehab. “Lea has been inconsolable,” the insider said at the time.

The New York native has continued to honor Monteith’s memory over the years despite finding love again. In April 2018, she announced her engagement to businessman Zandy Reich. The duo tied the knot in March 2019 in Napa, California, and welcomed a son, Ever Leo, in August 2020.

Related: Stars Who Revealed They Gave Up Drugs and Alcohol

Although the Scream Queens alum has since moved on, she pictured her future with the McCanick actor before his death.

“We talked about a lot of things,” she told Glamour UK in 2014. “We talked about children and what we would look like when we grew old, and who would be fat and how we would stay thin. We talked about where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We were done. We were it.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

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