“I can only listen to it once every six months.” We’re sitting at Pulse Recording studio in Los Angeles with the singer’s production team, playing the tracks Michele has recorded for her long-awaited album. Michele is a whole different person when talking about her music—a saucier, flashier, more animated version of the composed, wounded girl she was at home. Today she’s dressed like a hipster super-hero in skintight jeans, Fiorentini and Baker biker boots, and a paper-thin suede tank accessorized with a Starbucks coffee . Michele says her secret weapon has long been her capacity to maintain some balance in an off-kilter world. These days she’s a kundalini yoga devotee with a bathroom full of holistic soaks and health-nut supplements.
Cory Monteith
Michele is young and will hopefully create more happy memories throughout her life, but the sentiment remains a sweet one. Many couples get tattoos to celebrate their relationship and Lea Michele is a prime example. Not only does she have a tattoo that says “Finn,” the name of Monteith’s Glee character, as well as his jersey number, she even has the last texts they sent to one another tattooed on her side. Bea is a freelance entertainment and human interest journalist.
Interestingly enough, that on-screen flirtation between Salling and Rivera was, in fact, art imitating life, and according to Rivera herself, the two co-stars began dating soon after meeting in the pilot episode. Gleeks everywhere were thrilled whenLea MicheleandCory LovePlanet Monteith— a.k.a. Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson — took their relationship offscreen. TheGleecostars went public with their romance in 2012 and were still dating when theMonte Carloactor tragically died of an overdose in July 2013 at the age of 31.
Somehow, the seeming improbability of the Monteith/Michele union only added to the sense of communal grief when the actor died in July at age 31, alone in a Vancouver hotel room, of an apparent drug overdose. Lea Michele was living her dream as Glee’s resident drama queen, dating the quarterback on-screen and off. She opens up to Lizzy Goodman about love, mourning through music, and finding strength in Cory’s legacy.
In a 2014 appearance on Good Morning America, McGregor revealed that Michele was a constant support after her son’s death. Michele has since gone on to find love again and start a family of her own. She married Zandy Reich in 2019 and they welcomed their first son, Ever, in 2020. However she seems to have fallen out of favor with the rest of the Glee cast.
Lea Michele
“I think that is something the world should know — that Lea Michele watches ‘Glee,’ like, by herself,” he said with a laugh. When that revelation was hit with backlash, Michele responded with bewilderment, as in whywouldn’tanyone want to watch themselves in “Glee?” “I think that everyone is so shocked when I say that,” she toldPrideSource. While pondering the “Glee” star cavorting with all those crabs, consider some of her other responses for the interview, which were similarly enlightening.
Remaining a couple, Monteith and Michele are last seen together in public on June 8 in Los Angeles. In April 2013, Monteith voluntarily admits himself to rehab for drug addiction. Fans of Monteith and Michele may know that the two were planning on living their lives together before he passed away, making his loss even harder for Michele to bear. Their relationship wasn’t casual by any means and the two discussed everything from marriage to children, making plans after having selected one another as life partners. While the pair weren’t living together yet, Us Weekly reported that a friend revealed they had planned on moving in with one another when Monteith returned from Vancouver.
McGregor had not yet been informed about the tragic accident when Michele called her after hearing the news. McGregor recounted the heartbreaking series of events to People in 2018. “I got a call from Lea and she was screaming on the phone,” she remembered. “She was yelling, ‘Is it true, is it true about Cory?’ and I said, ‘What about Cory?’ I had heard nothing. And then police knocked on my front door.” In a tragic twist of fate, Rivera was found dead on the seventh anniversary of Monteith’s passing. Rivera drowned after taking a pontoon out with her son on July 7, 2020.
I know, she’s not technically a series regular anymore — but after almost five seasons of enduring Tina Cohen-Chang, how could we forget about Jenna Ushkowitz? Especially since she’s dating Vampire Diaries heartthrob Michael Trevino since they were first spotted together in 2011. The “Believer” singer shared a photo of her and Monteith looking at each other affectionately via her Instagram Story on the ninth anniversary of his death. One year later, on July 13, 2017, she shared a black and white photo. “Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love and support.
While Glee was airing, the Emmy nominee sparked a romance with Monteith until his 2013 death. She was previously linked to Morrison and Broadway’s Theo Stockman before she began dating Reich. The pair got engaged in April 2018 and tied the knot one year later. The “Cannonball” singer later told Seventeen magazine that she “loved every day” she got to spend with Monteith. … I thank him for being the best boyfriend and making me feel so beautiful,” she gushed.
What makes the detail more ironic is how the couple secretly engaged in PDA on the show, as their alter egos…particularly while Finn still harbored feelings for his girlfriend, Quinn Fabray. While Michele and Monteith were a serious item before Cory’s untimely death, many noted that the two didn’t live together like many serious couples do. Close friends of the couple said that Monteith was at Michele’s home in L.A. Many fans might not know that both Cory and Lea were dating other people when they first met. While Business Insider reported that the two had always been flirtatious while filming the show, they certainly weren’t an item before the show began, and some hearts may have been broken when they got together. One of the most tender things to emerge following Monteith’s untimely end is the way he’s remembered by those who love him.
Although fans were astounded to learn that Monteith and Michele were an item during filming, fellow Glee stars also had no idea that the pair were dating. Lea says that no one had really “caught on” to their relationship at the beginning of the show, but the couple’s timeline suggests that they may not have been serious until 2011. Michele also took to Twitter to celebrate their reunion, writing, “Today is a great day Love you all! Xo” (via E! News). One of the first the star released was the heartbreaking ballad “If You Say So” from her 2014 album, “Louder,” which shares in detail the grief she experienced in the wake of his death. The Broadway actor also had nothing but sweet things to say about her late boyfriend toEllein 2013, admitting she had heart eyes from the first time she crossed paths with him.
The New York native dated the Tony winner for almost a year, but they broke up before Lea made her debut onGlee. It doesn’t seem like there was any bad blood because John later made a guest appearance on the musical show as Henri St. Pierre. Before they were Rachel Berry and Mr. Schuester, the costars had a romantic fling. “Matt had been a friend of mine for years, and in fact, we’d actually dated back in the day for a Broadway beat,” Lea revealed in her book,Brunette Ambition. The pair were first romantically linked in July 2017 but knew each other for a while as friends before they started dating.
The Edge of Seventeen actor was married to Benoist until their 2016 split. Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and more Glee alums have found their happily ever afters off-screen. Life & Style has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Keep scrolling to see Lea and Cory’s full relationship timeline.