'I've lost two people, Cory and Finn:' Lea Michele opens up about dealing with the death of her boyfriend and Glee co-star Cory Monteith

PUBLISHED: 13:50 EST, 9 October 2013 | UPDATED: 14:27 EST, 9 October 2013

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She was left devastated when her boyfriend Cory Monteith died from an overdose in July.

And Lea Michele has admitted that coping with his death is twice as hard because she has not only lost Cory but her on-screen boyfriend Finn Hudson too.

Speaking ahead of a tribute episode to Cory, which will air in the US on Thursday, she told TV Week Australia, ‘For me personally, I’ve lost two people: Cory and Finn.’

Tragic: Lea Michele is still trying to come to terms with the death of her boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith after his overdose in July

Lea added: ‘We had a beautiful memorial for Cory in the auditorium and some of the cast members sang and people spoke about him. It only felt right that we would do the same thing for Finn, so I felt it was very therapeutic.’

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Lea, 27, and the cast returned to work soon after 31-year-old Cory’s death and while it was difficult, Lea was grateful to be surrounded by those who loved Cory as much as she did.

‘Everyone is asking: “Is it hard to do this? Is it hard to be back at work?”’, she said ‘but the truth is it’s no harder at work than it is in life, so we might as well all be together as a family supporting each other to get through this together.’

Double loss: Not only has Lea lost her real-life boyfriend but she has also lost her on-screen love Finn Hudson and says she is grieving for both

Meanwhile, the actress spoke of her love for the actor and said she considers herself lucky to have had him in her life.

‘I woke up every single day feeling like I was in some sort of spell or something, that I was lucky enough to have him in my life,’ she explained. ‘There was no greater man than Cory, so for the time we spent together, I consider myself very lucky.’

The tribute episode, The Quarterback, will take place a few weeks after Finn’s funeral without explaining how he died.

Lea performs Bob Dylan’s, Make You Feel My Love while Naya Rivera sings, If I Die Young, and Chord Overstreet and Kevin McHale sing a heartfelt duet of Fire and Rain.

Back to work: Lea and the cast returned to work soon after 31-year-old Cory's death and while it was difficult, Lea was grateful to be surrounded by those who loved Cory as much as she did

The final coroner's report regarding Cory's overdose was revealed earlier this month and it painted a tragic picture.

The report - which was obtained by TMZ - states that the actor was shooting heroin and downing champagne alone in his hotel room on the night of his death.

His body was discovered in the Vancouver, Canada hotel on July 13 shortly after midday.
According to the report, first responders discovered a 'spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle.'

Two empty champagne bottles and glasses were also discovered at the scene.

The young star's official cause of death is listed as 'mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol.'

It's also noted that Cory 'had a history of illicit drug use with intermittent periods of rehabilitation and of abstinence from drugs.'

Cory's tolerance for substance abuse may have been lower than usual because he had stopped using since attending rehab over a period from March to April, the coroner posits.

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Pudeong, Islands, United States, 1 hour ago

After experiencing loss recently, this is so real: "but the truth is it¿s no harder at work than it is in life." Smart and thoughtful girl. Glad you're doing well. Keep looking forward Lea.