Commemorating her on-off boyfriend and Glee co-star's birthday wasn't going to be easy for Lea Michele and we have no idea how sad she must have been for all of yesterday (May 11th). However, Lea paid tribute to the late actor Cory Monteith, who would have been 32 yesterday, on social media, in a very sweet and simple way. Posting to Twitter a black and white photo of them smiling together, Lea added the caption: 'The biggest heart and most beautiful smile. In all of our hearts. We love you so. Happy Birthday.'
The actor, who had previously battled struggles with addiction, died of an overdose of a combination of heroin and alcohol in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada in July last year.
As well as appearing in the episode of Glee that paid tribute to Cory's passing by writing in his character Finn's death, Lea recently said she tries to do him proud by furthering her career. 'I somehow feel the insane love Cory and I had for each other morphed into this strength that I have right now,' she told her friend Jonathan Groff, who was interviewing her for Teen Vogue. 'There's just something about knowing he's watching everything I'm doing and feeling like I have to do everything now not just for me but for him.'
Lea explained that he hugely supported any future solo career of hers as a singer. 'During Glee, I felt like I was scratching that itch of being an artist. I was at a great place in my life and I was so unbelievably happy – my relationship with Cory made me feel like I could reach for the stars and more. So I was like, "I'm going to challenge myself and do this record now." It's obviously pop, but I think it shows me off as a singer.'
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Picture: @msleamichele
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.