1. married’
were getting
Heartbroken Lea reveals
The actress struggles to cope
with the death of her boyfriend
– and their wedding dream
I
t was 10pm on July 13 when Lea
Michele’s world fell apart. After trying
unsuccessfully to reach her co-star
boyfriend Cory Monteith, she received
the phone call that would change her
life forever – Cory was dead. “Lea completely
lost her mind [after hearing of Cory’s tragic
overdose],” a source tells Us Weekly. “She went
crazy, screaming and crying until 3am.”
After almost two years of dating, insiders
say the pair were more in love than ever,
and planning their wedding. “They were
about to be married,” Lea’s grandfather
Albert Sarfati tells Star magazine.
A friend says Lea had “no doubt in her
mind that Cory was her soulmate,” and
While Lea relaxed in Mexico with jewellery designer BFF
Jennifer Cohen on what insiders believe may have been
her hens’ party, Cory was spotted in the seedier parts of
Vancouver. Despite his recent stint in rehab, celebrity news
site TMZ reports he “knocked back beers” with friends
when they stopped off at motorcycle store The Shop.
CORY’s
LAST party
With their love
stronger than
ever, friends
say Lea and Cory
were planning
to walk down
the aisle.
Off to
rehab
March 31:
Cory checks
into a private
rehab centre
for non-specific
“substance
addiction”. “He
graciously asks for your respect and
privacy as he takes the necessary
steps towards recovery,” his concerned
rep said at the time.
Stag do
timeline of
tragedy
was looking forward to their future together.
“She had her whole life planned with Cory,”
the pal tells celebrity news site Hollywood Life.
“Lea was positive they were going to get
married and have kids together.”
Amid reports their wedding was as close as
two weeks away, Cory headed to Vancouver
to spend time with his friends for what some
suggest may have been a bucks’ party.
Meanwhile, Lea enjoyed a girls’ trip to Cabo
San Lucas in Mexico – rumoured to have been
part of her hens’ celebration – and was even
sporting a sparkler on her ring
finger. On July 10, just three days
before the actor’s untimely death,
Lea was posting pics
of herself and friends
relaxing around the
pool, looking happy
and relaxed – unaware
of the tragedy about
to shock the world.
After receiving the
devastating news, Lea
flew to Vancouver.
“Since Cory’s
passing, Lea has been
grieving alongside
his family and
making appropriate
arrangements with
them,” says her rep.
“They are supporting
each other as they
endure this profound
loss together.”
At the time
of going to
press, the 26-year-
old hadn’t been seen since Cory’s death, with
those closest to Lea saying she is “devastated
beyond belief”. “She is absolutely hysterical and
completely inconsolable,” a source reports.
The heartbroken actress has even been calling
Cory’s voicemail just to hear his voice. “It is as
heart-wrenching as it sounds,” adds the insider.
‘Cory & I
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Hens’ party
Recovery
in Mexico
May 5: Lea tweets that the couple
are heading to Mexico in order to “rest
up mind body and soul”. A few weeks
later, they look loved-up at the 12th
Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in LA.
Happy reunion
April 26: After completing
a 30-day stint in the facility,
a happy and healthy-looking
Cory flies to Canada with Lea.
The pair are all smiles at a
Vancouver Canucks hockey game.
Hometown boy
July 6: On his last trip to Vancouver,
Cory checks into the Fairmont Pacific Rim
hotel rather than
staying with his
family. Spending
his days and nights
hanging out with
friends, he also
takes time to chat
and pose for photos
with fans. Two days
before his death,
the actor seems fine
when he meets up
with his manager
Elena Kirschner at
East Of Main café.
Shock death
July 12: Cory has dinner with friends and
parties at The Roxy nightclub before heading
back to his room around 2am. His body is found
at noon the next day after he fails to check out.
A tragic
love
story
Cory&Lea
so in tune... Use the free
Netpage app to scan this
page for a clip of Cory and
Lea singing together in Glee
continued over the page ➡
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2. His double life
Cory kept his demons hidden. Former girlfriend Mallory Matoush
(below) tells Us Weekly he was a “happy guy” whose only vice was
the occasional drink. “Cory kept me in the dark about his drug use.
He told me about his teenage days and his past problems but he
never used anything in front of me, ever,” she insists.
Sources say visiting his native Vancouver caused Cory to fall
back into old habits. “Clubs would send cars to get him to come in
and once he arrived, there were always people who could hook him
up,” an insider tells Perez Hilton. “His former dealers would always
know when he was in town and would
make fun of him for stopping taking
drugs, which made him do it again to
appear cool in their eyes.”
Lea and Cory’s relationship started
like a fairytale, with an instant spark
when they were cast on Glee in 2009.
“She just kind of had a different
energy than everyone else there,”
Corygushedduringarecentinterview.
Lea was equally smitten. “I don’t
even remember a time when he wasn’t
my boyfriend,” she told Marie Claire in
2012. “I feel really, really settled... I feel
like the luckiest girl in the world.”
But instead of her
dream wedding, Lea
is now planning a
memorial service for
the man she loves.
“Cory’s mum is not
involved at all in the planning – it’s all Lea,”
reports news site TMZ.
Experts say the grieving star is likely to
need therapy to overcome her loss. “It’s very
important Lea learns how not to blame herself
for the tragic loss of Cory,” addiction specialist
Steven Orenstein tells Hollywood Life.
Those who knew the couple say they were
even more in love than they seemed. “He said
she made him a better person,” All The Wrong
Reasons director Gia Milani tells People mag.
Lea’s
friends say
the 31-year-
old was her
whole world.
“She’s a total
romantic, and
she believed
they were
going to be
together forever,”
reveals a source.
“She was so sure
it was all going
according to plan.”
And Cory was just
as enamoured with his
bride-to-be. “He would
always say how lucky he
was to have Lea,” adds
the insider. “They both
just adored each other
and were planning for
a long and happy life
together. It’s so hard
to believe it’s over.”
After meeting on the
set of Glee back in 2009,
Lea and Cory quickly
became best friends.
The future of glee
Emergency meetings have reportedly been called to figure out how
Glee will handle the departure of Cory’s character Finn Hudson,
with some insiders saying a musical memorial episode could be on
the cards. But however producers choose to proceed, it’s likely the
fifth season’s September 19 premiere will be pushed back a month.
higher and go farther. He makes me feel like
I can do anything.”
After standing by Cory when he went into
rehab in March – telling People mag at the time,
“I love and support Cory and will stand by him
through this. I am grateful and proud he made
this decision” – sources say Lea had no idea
Cory had relapsed just three months later.
The star was open
about his struggle
with drugs as a teen,
confessing to Parade
magazine in 2011 that
he did “anything and
everything, as much
as possible” when he
was younger. “I’m
lucky on so many
counts – I’m lucky
to be alive,” he said.
But despite his
determination to stay
sober, in the end Cory’s
addiction won out. The
autopsy report confirmed he died of a lethal
combination of alcohol and heroin. “There
is no evidence to suggest Mr Monteith’s
death was anything other than a most tragic
accident,” the coroner’s report states.
On July 16, his family held a cremation for
Cory in Vancouver, following a private viewing
The final performance
In an eerie case of life imitating art, Cory plays a drug addict
in his last movie McCanick. Director Josh C Waller tells the Los
Angeles Times, “[Cory] said he wanted to tap into things from
his youth that he hadn’t been able to use as an actor yet.”
The way they were
farewell gig... Use the
free Netpage app to scan
this page for the trailer to
Cory’s final film McCanick
attended by his
mum Ann, brother
Shaun and Lea – the
love of his life. “She
is just ruined right
now,” says the source.
“She is running
out of tears.”
tweet
sorrowHollywood was in shock
as news of Cory’s untimely
passing spread, with many of
its biggest names taking to
Twitter to express their grief.
“He came to LA
knowing nothing. Lea
helped guide him,” a
source tells Us Weekly.
By the end of 2011,
friendship had turned
to love, and the duo
started dating – much
to the delight of
fans. “I don’t even
remember a time
when he wasn’t
my boyfriend,”
Lea told Marie
Claire magazine
last year. “No-one
knows me better
than Cory.
No-one
knows what
it’s been
like to go
through this
more than
he does.
Feeling like
you have
that net
underneath
you allows
you to jump
“She believed
they were
going to be
together
forever,”
says a pal.
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A tragiclovestory
Cory&Lea
Photo:MalloryMatoush
FAMOUS/15/ www.famousmag.com.au
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