Lea Michele paid tribute to her late Glee co-star Cory Monteith on the ninth anniversary of his passing on Wednesday, July 13. The 35-year-old actress posted a photo of herself and Cory behind the scenes, during one of their episodes of the show, where they were dolled up as Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson, respectively. The couple were smiling at each other in the photo, shared to her Instagram Story, with a simple red heart emoji accompanying it.
It’s been nearly a decade since Cory died in 2013 from an accidental overdose at age 31, while staying in Vancouver, Canada. Lea has shared yearly tributes to her former co-star and then-boyfriend in the years since his death. She commemorated the eighth anniversary of his passing with a similar photo of the pair with the heart emoji. In the year immediately following his death, she wrote a touching tribute to the actor. “We hold you in our hearts today, and every day we remember your smile,” she tweeted.
Lea and Cory were dating at the time of his death. The pair were rumored to have been dating since February 2012. In the years since his death, she married Zandy Reich in 2019, and the pair have a son together.
Lea wasn’t the only Glee star to honor Cory. Iqbal Theba, who played Principal Figgins on the show also wrote a tweet to pay tribute to the late star. “It’s been 9 [years] since that heartbreaking phone call from my publicist,” he wrote. “He would’ve been 39 this year.”
It’s been 9 yrs since that heartbreaking phone call from my publicist. He would’ve been 39 this year #CoryMonteith @CoryMonteith ❤️❤️❤️❤️
— iqbal theba (@iqbaltheba) July 13, 2022
The tributes to Cory came just days after stars also reflected on the death of Naya Rivera, who died by drowning in July 2020. A number of stars like Heather Morris and Jenna Ushkowitz made tributes to the late actress, who played Santana Lopez on the series. Lea had commemorated the first anniversary of Naya’s passing with a black-and-white Instagram photo of the star, singing the Funny Girl song “Don’t Rain On My Parade.”