"Glee" actress Lea Michele broke her silence nearly two weeks after her boyfriend and co-star Cory Montieith passed away of a drug overdose. The star took to Twitter to open up about her boyfriend's sudden death and to thank fans during the difficult time.
"Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support," the New York native tweeted along with a photo of the couple. "Cory will forever be in my heart."
On July 16, Michele's rep released a statement saying, "Lea is deeply grateful for all the love and support she's received from family, friends, and fans. Since Cory's passing, Lea has been grieving alongside his family and making appropriate arrangements with them. They are supporting each other as they endure this profound loss together. We continue to ask the media to respect the privacy of Lea and Cory's family."
As previously reported, Michele was a vital decision maker in how the couple's show would move forward in the upcoming season. Showrunner Ryan Murphy spoke to TVLine and said that no decision was made without consulting Michele.
"Well, it's such uncharted water for me, personally. We had several options. We could delay shooting until November, we could delay shooting until January. But, ultimately, what we decided to do for the cast and crew was start shooting with something that we had already written," the show co-creator said.
Murphy added, "Lea is obviously very grief-stricken but she's also one of the strongest people I know. She wants people to be better and get back to work. So that's what we're going to do."
Montieth's untimely death caught many by surprise despite his known drug issues. The Canadian actor was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room from a mixed drug toxicity that primarily involved heroin and alcohol.
According to TVLine, the cast and crew of "Glee" reunited on Thursday to honor the late actor's life. Monteith, who played football quarterback and Glee club lead Finn Hudson, will be honored in a special "tribute episode" early in the fifth season.
"Glee" season five will return on Thursday, September 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox. The comedy musical was scheduled to begin production in late July, with a September 19 premiere date, but was pushed back a week in wake of Monteith's sudden death.