Lea Michele is constantly faced with reminders of her boyfriend of two years and Glee costar Cory Monteith, even nearly three years after his death and since finding love again.
The Scream Queens star joined the Fempire podcast on Tuesday and discussed the social media backlash from fans she’s gone through since starting a relationship with her current boyfriend Matthew Paetz about a year after Monteith’s 2013 death.
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“I love my fans. They’re incredible and they were really a part of my whole story and my whole journey with me, so I do come from a place of understanding, but it’s also really hard,” she said. “You know, every time I post a picture, then it’s just a landslide of comments that talk about my past and bring that up rather than projecting positivity.”
She went on, “And even though, you know, I don’t think anyone is really projecting hate — it is positive, it’s nothing so, so terrible — but at the end of the day, we have to remember that what we put out there, it manifests and it creates energy and you should want to be the person that chooses to take that second to do something positive.”
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Lea Michele Remembers Cory Monteith on 2 Year Anniversary of His Death
Michele and Paetz have been dating since they met on the set of her “On My Way” music video in April, 2014, and she said he has been very supportive of her past and respectful to Monteith’s memory.
“I have to say that is honestly what I love so much about Matt,” she said. “That’s honestly what is so incredible about him because at the end of the day, this industry is really tough and the only way to really get through is to create a solid unit…. He also is very respectful for the person that I was with. And that again is something that I love so much about him and I really know that Cory would love him too.”
Listen to the full interview here.