Gûle stars Naya Rivera and Cory Monteith were not only co-stars but also friends. Here’s what Rivera revealed about the moment she learned that Monteith began acting “like another person.”
Cory Monteith acknowledged that he had a history of substance abuse
In her book Sorry not sorryTo, Rivera said the Gûle cast would sometimes eat and spend time together. Rivera said Monteith revealed during one of her meetings that he had a history of substance abuse. He assured her that he was sober at the time.
“In the beginning, Cory was really open with all of us about his past and the problems he had with drugs and alcohol,” Rivera wrote. ‘He said flat-out,’ I’m a former addict, ‘and he did not drink drugs yet. As far as I knew he was completely sober by season three. ”
The first time Naya Rivera saw Cory Monteith drinking alcohol
Rivera said the cast went to dinner on another occasion, and to their surprise, they saw Monteith drinking for the first time. According to Rivera, Monteith said he would like to try drinking in moderation. Since most of his castmates were unfamiliar with addiction, they took his word for it and assumed he could control his tendency to overdo it when it came to drugs.
When we recorded the last episode before we went on tour, a bunch of us went to dinner and decided to celebrate with cocktails because we knew we would be working until the wee hours, and there would be no be time to do it later. It was also Cory’s birthday, and when he decided to order a cocktail, it was the first time we’ve ever seen him drink. He noticed that we noticed.
He explained that he could drink in moderation, that he could do it and be just like everyone else. He seemed calm and confident about the fact that we all just accepted it. To be honest, I do not think many of us really understood how addiction worked, nor did we realize the extent of his previous addiction.
Naya Rivera in ‘Sorry Not Sorry’
Alcohol was not the only substance with which Monteith wrestled. He had also reported a drug addiction. “I always thought of Cory as a recovering alcoholic, and completely forgot that he also had a heroin problem,” Rivera wrote. ‘I think he hid it well. I thought of heroin as a problem that was relegated to tense junkies living on the street, not my sweet, smart, talented friend who had a lot of money. He always knew his lines and choreography and was wide awake. Heroin was the opposite of awakening. ”
Naya Rivera noticed that there was something different about Cory Monteith
Rivera said she began noticing changes in Monteith after he started dating Gûle co-star Lea Michele. “The more serious they became, the less Cory hung out with us, and the more he seemed to be a different person,” Rivera wrote. “One year he came back from the time between seasons super skinny. He said he had spent a lot of time at the gym trying to be responsible – not spending money all the time and buying crazy cars like he used to. “
Although Rivera was not the best terms with Michele, she thought she would be a good influence on Monteith. ‘My personal feelings for Lea, I knew she was not a party, so I felt maybe her relationship could actually be good for him. I was glad for Cory that he had a stable influence in his life, wherever he found it. ‘
Naya Rivera said Cory Monteith wrestled with ‘same old demons’
Although Monteith had what looked like the perfect life, Rivera said he had struggled. His life was not as perfect as it did. Unfortunately, Monteith died on July 13, 2013 from a reported drug overdose.
From the outside, Cory’s life looked perfect, but I think his same old demons were still there, raising as much mental and emotional hell as ever. I think this is a common misconception about celebrity, like any kind of marker of ‘success’ in life, whether it’s landing your dream job, getting married, or having a child: people think you need to achieve these goals , you check certain boxes, and suddenly life is perfect and you have no problems.
That is not true. You will still wake up every morning, and your problems will still be there, unless you find a way to get rid of them. And more often than not, new ones will appear in their place.
Naya Rivera in ‘Sorry Not Sorry’
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