Cory Monteith’s Mother Pays Tribute To His Friendship With Naya Rivera

Naya Rivera’s death was made all the more tragic for the fact her body was found on the seventh anniversary of friend and Glee co-star Cory Monteith’s death.

Rivera wrote fondly of the brother-sister dynamic she shared with Monteith in her book Sorry Not Sorry; one of the most shared clips in the wake of her passing is her emotional performance of If I Die Young from the episode that commemorated the death of his character, Finn.

On Tuesday, the actor’s mother, Ann McGregor, paid tribute to both stars and their friendship on Instagram, highlighting the unique pain of the news breaking on that particular date. She wrote:

“For the last 7 years the 13th of July has shattered our hearts beyond repair. There aren’t enough words to describe the pain we are feeling, we are truly heartbroken at the loss of @nayarivera .”

Accompanied by some sweet pictures of the pair, the caption continued:

“Naya, Cory loved you so so much. He cherished your friendship more than you will ever know. From the laughs you shared, to the strength you gave him when he needed it the most. Cory truly adored you. He was in awe of your incredible talent, the way you gave everything you had to each performance; the slap in the auditorium was one of his favourite stories to share. You once said Cory was like a member of your family; you will always be a part of ours. We’ll carry you in our hearts forever. We miss you. Friends reunited for eternity.”

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For the last 7 years the 13th of July has shattered our hearts beyond repair. There aren’t enough words to describe the pain we are feeling, we are truly heartbroken at the loss of @nayarivera . Naya, Cory loved you so so much. He cherished your friendship more than you will ever know. From the laughs you shared, to the strength you gave him when he needed it the most. Cory truly adored you. He was in awe of your incredible talent, the way you gave everything you had to each performance; the slap in the auditorium was one of his favourite stories to share. You once said Cory was like a member of your family; you will always be a part of ours. We’ll carry you in our hearts forever. We miss you. Friends reunited for eternity. We send all our love and strength to your beautiful boy, your family, friends and fans ????????????

A post shared by Cory’s Law (@coryslaw) on Jul 14, 2020 at 2:11pm PDT

Many of Rivera’s friends and co-stars have written remembrances in the days since Rivera’s disappearance. Kevin McHale specifically mentioned the bond between Cory and Naya on Twitter, including his feelings about her body being found on that particular date, sharing:

I'm not religious by any means, but you'd be hard-pressed to convince me that Cory didn't help find our girl today. These 2, in many ways, were the male and female versions of one another. So nice, cared deeply, were stupidly talented, the most fun, and really really good people. https://t.co/qsvThOJxL7

— Kevin McHale (@druidDUDE) July 14, 2020