Lea Michele paid tribute to her late boyfriend and Glee co-star Cory Monteith on the fifth anniversary of his death.
The actress, 31, took to Twitter Friday to honor the memory of the actor, five years after he tragically died of a drug overdose.
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“There are some who bring a light so great to the world, that even after they have gone, the light remains,” she wrote. Along with the quote, as first reported by PEOPLE, she shared a photo of the sun rising over the ocean.
“There are some who bring a light so great to the world, that even after they have gone, the light remains”❤️ pic.twitter.com/OvDvoDoP4j
— Lea Michele (@LeaMichele) July 13, 2018
Monteith died at the age of 31 on July 13, 2013; his body was found in a Vancouver, Canada, hotel room. According to authorities he died of a “mixed drug toxicity” of heroin and alcohol.
The Canadian actor had completed a month-long stint in a treatment facility for substance addiction in April 2013 and had been open about his lifelong struggles with substance abuse.
Michele was 26 at the time of Monteith’s sudden passing, and was romantically involved with the actor for more than a year.
“I love working with Cory, I always have,” Michele told PEOPLE in September 2012. “He really, really inspires me, and he motivates me and I think he’s just so talented. Working with him has been one of the best experiences of this whole process.”
After his death, an outcry of support surrounded Michele, who since the end of Glee has gone on to play roles on Scream Queens and ABC’s The Mayor. She also has addressed her relationship with the actor, as well as her feelings following his passing, on her albums.
Apart from her recent tour promoting her music, along with former Glee co-star Darren Criss, Michele recently announced her engagement to Zandy Reich.
The Glee veteran announced the news on her Instagram in April with a photo of a gigantic rock on her ring finger, hand covering her face.
Reich is the president of a women’s clothing line called AYR, and is notoriously private. The couple first met in 2016, they began dating in July 2017. Michele has only been romantically linked to one other person since the Monteith’s death.
Michele told PEOPLE in November 2017 that Reich helps her stay grounded.
“When I’m not working, I’m at home with my cat, with my family, with my boyfriend, with the people that I love — and that’s how I reset, and that’s how I center myself,” she said. “It’s so important to tune out the noise and the unnecessary, and just focus on the people that you love because they know you better than anyone.”
Se added, “I’m very happy and I think that you can tell. I don’t really talk a lot about my personal life, but I’m also the kind of person where I always say, ‘You will see how happy I am just by looking at my face.’ I can’t hide it.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1
