Actress and singer Lea Michele, best known for her role in Fox’s award-winning series Glee, has released a heartfelt statement remembering her co-star Cory Monteith, who passed away ten years ago today. Monteith, who played high school quarterback Finn Hudson, was a beloved member of the Glee cast, and his death by overdose in 2013 rocked Hollywood to its core. Now, Lea Michele – Cory’s love interest, both onscreen and off – and a few other Glee alums like Kevin McHale are coming together to remember their fallen friend.
Lea Michele and Kevin McHale Post Heartfelt Statements to Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith passed away on July 13th, 2013, aged 31, and was found in a hotel room in Vancouver, BC. His death was ruled as an overdose involving heroin and alcohol. The news shocked Glee fans who had only ever known Monteith as the face of Finn Hudson, the kind, good-natured ex-quarterback of William McKinley High School.
Over the course of Glee’s first four seasons, Finn had been involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with Rachel Berry, Lea Michele’s character and the star of the Glee club. The two would find themselves engaged not long after graduation, with plans to take on the world together before Monteith’s death unexpectedly closed the curtains on their relationship.
Behind the cameras, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith would begin dating for real in 2012. They would remain together until his death, a year and a half after their relationship was announced.
“Hey you. 10 years. It feels like only yesterday that you were here and yet a million years ago all at the same time,” Lea Michele wrote in an Instagram post. “I hold all of our memories in my heart where they will stay safe and never forgotten. We miss you every day and will never forget the light you to brought to us all. I miss you big guy.”
“I hope you found Taylor up there and are playing the drums together,” she adds, referencing Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for the band Foo Fighters, who passed away while on tour on March 25th, 2022. Like Monteith, Hawkins’ death was attributed to the amount of drugs found in his system at the time. Hawkins was 55 at the time of his death.
Lea Michele isn’t the only Glee star remembering Cory Monteith today; among others, Kevin McHale – who played Glee club member Artie Abrams – released his own statement on Twitter, remembering Monteith and Naya Rivera, who passed away three years ago.
“10 years ago today I was in London with Naya. We immediately met up after being woken up by the worst possible news,” McHale writes. “We spent the day partly in shock, partly laughing at our memories, partly crying at the impossibility of it all. 10 years later, not a day has gone by where I don’t miss you – both of you. Thanks for sharing your light with us for as brief as it was.”
Along with marking ten years since Cory Monteith’s death, today also marks the third anniversary of Naya Rivera’s death. Rivera, who played Santana Lopez on Glee, passed away in a boating accident on Lake Piru in California on July 13th, 2020. More than one Glee fan has pointed out the eerie coincidence that both beloved stars died on the same day, seven years apart.
All six seasons of Glee are available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
