It's hard to believe that two years have passed since Cory Monteith lost his life, but on Monday his co-star and former girlfriend Lea Michele remembered the late star. The actress posted a tender image of Cory driving into the sunset, alongside a bittersweet caption.
Taking to Twitter, Lea wrote: "Today we remember the laughter and joy you brought into our lives every day. We think of you always and love you so."
Lea, 28, and Cory, who was 31 when he passed away, dated for a year and a half until the actor's death in 2013. The pair, who had worked together on Glee since 2009, also played on-screen love interests Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson on the show.
Cory Monteith passed away two years ago in his native Canada
Cory was tragically found in his hotel room in Vancouver on 13 July 2013, and an autopsy report concluded that the small-screen star had died from a mixed drug toxicity.
Glee producers and scriptwriters at first struggled with how to portray Cory's absence on the show, and decided that his character Finn would also die, although details of his character's death were never revealed.
In the episode entitled The Quarterback, which was set three weeks after Finn's funeral, his friend Kurt, played by Chris Colfer, is seen saying: "That doesn't matter. Everyone wants to talk about how he died too, but who cares? One moment in his whole life – I care more about how he lived."
His Glee character Finn Hudson also passed away on the show
Glee carried on until season six, when the final episode aired in March. One month before, Lea reached out to her fans on Twitter, writing: "I can't believe tomorrow is our last day at Glee. It's going to be such an emotional day. But I'm so grateful to have had this incredibly amazing experience."
The actress continued to thank the show's fans for their support and said she would miss her character Rachel before sharing a touching photo with the caption, "One last thing."
The couple dated for a year and a half before Cory's untimely death
She had taken home the football jersey that her late boyfriend Cory famously wore on the show, as a final souvenir and a tribute to the actor.
Lea has moved on in her private life and has been dating aspiring actor Matthew Paetz for one year. The pair, who met while shooting Lea's second solo single On My Way, are said to have moved in together in September 2014.