Grieving Glee star Lea Michele spoke for the first time on Monday about the sudden and tragic death of her boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith. Monteith, who played Finn Hudson on the Fox musical comedy, passed away on July 13 from an overdose of heroin and alcohol.
The 31-year-old actor struggled with addiction most his life, starting when he was only 13. More recently, Monteith had to miss episodes while he underwent treatment but was expected to return for filming on Glee's fifth season.
Since the loss of her both on-and-off-screen boyfriend, Michele has been understandably silent.
The silence broke when the actress posted a tear jerking photo of her and Monteith at the beach on Instagram accompanied by a short message.
"Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart."
Glee producers held a private memorial service on July 26 for cast and crew to join together and mourn their friends loss and celebrate his life. 20th Century Fox then also released a statement.
"We thank the public for their continued outpouring of love and support as we grieve our friend and colleague during this difficult time."
Monteith's sudden death had the show's producers scrambling to find a way to respectfully deal with Finn's absence. Filming was already scheduled, leaving little time be lost.
While there has been no word on how the already struggling show plans to move on without one of its main cast members, creator Ryan Murphy has confirmed that there will be a tribute episode.
