Were Cory Monteith and Lea Michele Engaged? They Talked About a Future Together

Trigger warning: This article mentions drug overdose.

Beloved Glee star Cory Monteith died in 2013 at the age of 31 after overdosing on drugs and alcohol. At the time of his shocking passing, the actor had been dating his co-star Lea Michele.

In light of a docuseries, The Price of Glee, which began airing on Jan. 16, 2023 on ID and Discovery+, Glee fans want to know if the couple, who played Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson (who were also an item on the show), were actually planning to get married.

Lea certainly talked about feeling close to her fellow cast member before his death. As she confided to Marie Claire in 2013, "No one knows me better than Cory. No one knows what it's been like to go through this more than he does.” The star added, “Feeling like you have that net underneath you allows you to jump higher and go farther. He makes me feel like I can do anything. For the first time in my life, I feel really, really settled and happy. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world."

Tragically, Cory died just months later. At that time, a source told People the couple had indeed planned to marry, while another source noted the famous duo, together since 2012, had not entered into a formal engagement.

While Lea may not have directly answered the question of whether she and Cory were engaged when he died, she told Glamour U.K. in 2014 that they were very much planning a future together.

According to Lea, she and her former flame “talked about children and what we would look like when we grew old and who would be fat and how we would stay thin.” She added, “We talked about where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We were done. We were it. When you're at that place in your life with someone, you talk about everything.”

Even today, the Funny Girl star pays tribute to Cory on the anniversary of his passing every year, per Harper’s Bazaar. Despite her clear devotion to her fallen boyfriend, insiders have shared varying accounts of their relationship. Namely, a former hairdresser for Glee, Dugg Kirkpatrick, says in The Price of Glee, per The Daily Beast, “I think Cory's confusion had a lot to do with his relationship with Lea Michele. I don't know that she was a friend. I think she was involved with him because he was on a TV show.”

Lea is now married to Zandy Reich and the couple are parents to a son named Ever. As she told Extra about becoming a mom, “I feel like it definitely has softened me a lot and I probably could have used a little softening, and he really is just the thing that has changed me the most and I’m so grateful.”

If you or someone you know needs help, use SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator to find support for mental health and substance use disorders in your area or call 1-800-662-4357 for 24-hour assistance.