Cory Monteith was looking at a difficult road in the spring when he announced he was going to rehab.
The Glee actor already had years of struggles with drugs and alcohol behind him, and the decision to seek treatment meant he would have to miss filming the final two episodes of the season. But Cory left with the support of the show’s producers and girlfriend Lea Michele, a fellow Glee star.
Cory Monteith put in his time in rehab, emerging a month later seeming healthy and ready to continue on in his work.
“Sending out my love to everyone,” he tweeted to fans after leaving rehab, adding a smiley face. “Thank you for the continued support. It means the world to me.”
The seemingly successful rehab stint makes Monteith’s death this weekend even more perplexing. The circumstances surrounding his death are still not entirely clear, but from the pieces that have been leaked it appears Cory was partying with three friends in Vancover before returning to his hotel room alone.
Cory Monteith was found dead 10 hours later, after hospital staff went to his room to see why he hadn’t checked out. Police said there was no evidence of foul play, and an autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine his cause of death.
In the wake of his death, his Glee co-stars expressed shock and sadness. Lea Michele released a statement through her representative asking for privacy.
Cory Monteith had struggled with addiction since he was a teenager, and was never shy to talk about it. He spoke about stealing from family members and spiraling downward so far that in his late teens his family staged an intervention.
Cory went to rehab the first time at age 19, a decision he said “saved his life.”
Though his death was sudden and devastating, Glee execs must now determine how to move forward without Cory Monteith, whose character, Finn Hudson, was a fixture since the beginning of the show. Reports said producers at 20th Century Fox have not yet discussed how to proceed with the show.