Mark Salling’s ex-girlfriend Georgie Leahy spoke out for the first time since the Glee alum died by suicide in January 2018.
The actress, 32, said on her podcast, “Georgie and Friends,” on Tuesday, January 28, that she met Salling in March 2015 at Twilight star Kellan Lutz’s birthday party in the Hollywood Hills. They started talking and exchanged numbers, but she did not realize who he was until their first date weeks later.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m on a date with Puck,” Leahy recalled, referencing the actor’s Glee character, Noah “Puck” Puckerman.
The couple eventually entered into a relationship, and they spent Christmas Eve together later that year — five days before Salling was arrested for felony possession of child pornography. Leahy said she found out about the news on the internet.
“My brain was going crazy,” she said. “I tried to call Mark to find out what was going on, but the police had confiscated his phone.”
Leahy did not see Salling again until February 2016, when he invited her to his home against her mother’s wishes.
“We just hugged and sat together in total silence,” she recounted. “I desperately wanted him to say, ‘It’s not true,’ or ‘I’ve been set up.’ … He was probably in pain for a very long time.”
The Dallas native pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2017, and appeared in court two months later to formally enter his plea. He agreed to serve four to seven years in jail and was also ordered to register as a sex offender, enter a treatment program and pay approximately $50,000 in restitution to each of his victims, among other conditions.
However, Salling died by suicide in January 2018 while awaiting sentencing. He was found hanging from a tree in the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles and pronounced dead at the scene.
“It had been a long time since I’d heard from him, but I still loved him,” Leahy said on Tuesday, adding that she misses her ex “every day.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
