Lea Michele honors Cory Monteith a decade after boyfriend and co-star’s death

Lea Michele penned a heartfelt message Thursday to honor her late partner and “Glee” co-star Cory Monteith on the 10th anniversary of his death.

The “Funny Girl” performer posted a black-and-white photo on her Instagram showing the pair cheek-to-cheek embracing and smiling. Monteith died in 2013 of a heroin overdose at age 31.

“It feels like only yesterday that you were here and yet a million years ago all at the same time,” Michele, 36, wrote alongside the photo. “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,” Michele added, referring to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in March 2022 at age 50. Monteith, a drummer himself, famously auditioned for his part in “Glee” by sending in a video of himself playing “the drums” on a set of Tupperware and dishware.

Since Monteith’s death, Michele has regularly shared tributes to her late partner, posting photos and memories of the two on social media. In July 2019, she shared a photo of herself posing to reveal a small tattoo along her thigh, which read “Finn,” a reference to Monteith’s jock-turned-gleek character on their Fox musical comedy. Several years earlier, she shared an inked tribute of a “5” — Finn’s jersey number on the show — beneath her arm.

Michele and Monteith met on the set of their hit show, which debuted in 2009. (Michele was known for her difficult on-set behavior and issued an apology to her former cast mates in 2020.) Her character, Rachel Berry, and Monteith’s Finn had an on-again, off-again dating relationship, which led to some of the show’s most memorable duets. Off set, the pair confirmed they began dating in 2012, appearing on red carpets together and posting about each other on social media.

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Monteith struggled with and spoke publicly about his substance addiction, which developed before he got the “Glee” gig. The intense filming schedule and lengthy rehearsals for intricate dance numbers weighed heavily on Monteith, according to a recent docu-series about the show, “The Price of Glee.” He had to turn down multiple film projects because of the series’ demands. The fame that came with the show — lack of privacy from fans and nonstop headlines about his relationship with Michele — further exhausted him.

During filming of the show’s fourth season, Monteith was written out of numerous episodes so he could attend rehab for his substance abuse, according to the documentary. Four months later he was found unresponsive in a Vancouver, Canada, hotel room and was declared dead.

Nearly a year after his death, Michele began speaking publicly about her late partner, telling Seventeen, “I only have happy memories of Cory.

“He was not his addiction — unfortunately, it won,” she said, “But that wasn’t who he was.

“Cory made me feel like a queen every day,” she continued. “From the minute he said, ‘I’m your boyfriend,’ I loved every day, and I thank him for being the best boyfriend and making me feel so beautiful.”

In 2019, Michele married clothing entrepreneur Zandy Reich; they welcomed a son, Ever Leo, in August 2020. Their 2-year-old had a health scare earlier this year and was briefly hospitalized.

Times staff writers Amy Kauffman, Christie D’Zurilla, Nardine Saad and Ashley Lee contributed to this report.