Lea Michele is ready to get back to work after mourning the tragic July 13 death of boyfriend and costar Cory Monteith. The 26-year-old actress tweeted her excitement about filming Season 5 of Glee on Thursday, Aug. 1.
"First day of glee today . . . And at my first wardrobe fitting for Rachel Berry for Season Five!" she wrote bittersweetly. "I've missed her so much."
Michele first broke her Twitter silence regarding the loss of Monteith, her boyfriend for more than a year, on July 29. "Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support," she tweeted. "Cory will forever be in my heart." Two days later she shared, "Spending the day surrounded by great friends . . . Hope you all are having a good day . . . Sending lots of love to you all . . . "
Monteith, who starred as the beloved character Finn Hudson on Glee, was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room from a lethal dose of heroin and alcohol. He spent a month in rehab in April, but a source close to Michele told Us Weekly she "didn't know" he had relapsed and was "inconsolable."
Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy said they consulted Michele on how to handle Monteith's death on the Fox musical series. "She was very adamant that she thought it was best for the cast and crew to get back together sooner [rather] than later," he explained. "Cory was so beloved that she felt people really needed to be together in this time. So we sort of followed her lead."
During the TCA Tour panel on Aug. 1, Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly said, "The third episode will deal with the Finn Hudson character being written out of the show . . . What I will tell you is that that episode will deal directly with the incidents involved in Cory's passing and with the drug abuse in particular."
Reilly also revealed that Murphy was planning to "shoot some PSAs with the cast" that would "speak directly to the audience" about Monteith's death. The Fox boss also said Michele was "the first one to say, 'I want to get back to work' and has been "an extraordinary human being, a pillar of strength." The fifth season of Glee premieres on Fox Sept. 26 at 9 p.m.
