Lea Michele Pays Tribute To Cory Monteith At The Teen Choice Awards

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Lea Michele made her first public appearance since the death of her “Glee” co-star and real life boyfriend, Cory Monteith, at the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday.

Michele made her way to the stage after winning the award for Choice TV Actress in a Comedy. The actress looked marvelous in a bright pink dress with matching shoes and a necklace that said “Cory,” but it was evident that her win was bittersweet. She was overwhelmed by emotion before she even opened her mouth.

“I just wanted to be here today to personally thank all of you and tell everyone out there how much your love and support had meant to me over the past few weeks,” Michele said through tears.

She went on saying, “Not that I had any doubt before, but we certainly do have the greatest fans in the world. I want to dedicate this award to Cory.”

Monteith and Michele played an on-again, off-again couple on “Glee” and dated off-screen for about a year.

“For all of you out there who loved Cory as much as I did — I promise you we’ll get through this together. He was very special to me and also to the world, and we were very lucky to witness his incredible talent his handsome smile and his beautiful, beautiful heart. So whether you knew him personally or as Finn, he reached out and became a part of all of our hearts. So thank you guys so much,” Michele said.

Monteith, who co-hosted the Teen Choice Awards in 2010, was found dead on July 13 in Vancouver, British Columbia from a heroin and alcohol overdose. Michele and the rest of the “Glee” cast just started shooting for season 5 last week, this time without one of their principle cast members.

The rest of the cast also paid tribute to Monteith while accepting the award for Choice TV Comedy.

“Although we lost someone that we really love and that you guys love too we are very fortunate to come back to a show where we feel the love of family and Cory was like a brother to us,” said actress Amber Riley.

“We know that Cory would want to dedicate this award to you guys,” Jenna Ushkowitz said to the fans.

Monteith won a Teen Choice award for choice TV actor in a comedy in 2011 for his role as Finn Hudson.

The new season of “Glee” begins on Sept. 26.

photo credit: John Shearer, AP

Reach editor-in-chief Frances Vega here.

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