How Kate Hudson Helped Lea Michele Cope

Lea Michele Image by Getty Images

By Anne Cohen November 4, 2013

There’s nothing like a little girl talk to get one through the worst of times.

In the December issue of Elle (which she covers), Lea Michele describes how Kate Hudson was her shoulder to cry on in the aftermath of boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith’s sudden death.

“I called her and said, ‘I don’t know where I’m going to go because my house is swarmed [with reporters].’ She was like, ‘Oh, you’re going to stay at my house.’ Like it was nothing.”

But Michele wasn’t the only one sleeping over: “She let my family stay there, and any of my friends. She made sure that in the refrigerator were my favorite juices,” Michele toldElle. “I’ll never really be able to thank her, truly, for what she did for me.”

Monteith died in July at the age of 31. The coroner’s report ruled that the cause of death was “mixed drug toxicity,” ie — an overdose of heroin and alcohol. According to Michele, the two had been dating on the down low since the first season of “Glee.”

It’s very hard,” she said, referring to life without him. “You have to be very strong to come out of this alive, but I think by doing the best for myself, by showing that you don’t have to lose yourself, maybe someone else will feel some sort of strength or comfort.”

For more, check out the new issue of Elle. Michele offered readers a sneak peak via Twitter on Monday:

Behind the scenes pics of my @ELLEmagazine cover… pic.twitter.com/pGPW1OUMwu

ampmdash; Lea Michele (@msleamichele) November 4, 2013

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO