Lea Michele Thanks Boyfriend Matthew Paetz "for Making Me Smile Again" Following Cory Monteith's Death

"Thank you for loving me and my family," the Scream Queens star says

By Zach Johnson May 18, 2015 1:50 PMTags
Lea Michele, Matthew Paetz, InstagramInstagram

Lea Michele has a lot of love in her life.

The Scream Queens star gave boyfriend Matthew Paetz a sweet shout-out via Instagram Sunday. "Matthew, thank you for bringing such happiness into my life. For making me smile again and bringing such a bright joy into my every day...Thank you for loving me and my family...And of course Sheila too," the 28-year-old actress wrote, referring to her beloved cat. "May this be the happiest Birthday ever!"

In the picture, Paetz gave Michele a kiss on the cheek.

Paetz is the only person Michele has seriously dated after the 2013 death of her boyfriend, Cory Monteith, whom she met on the Fox series Glee in 2009.

The actress gave Monteith a shout-out on May 11, which would have been his 33rd birthday. "I know you're serenading everyone right now," Michele wrote on Twitter. "We love you Cory! Happy birthday."

Monteith was found dead in his hotel room in Vancouver on July 13, 2013.

The coroner ruled that he died of an overdose, officially referred to as a mixed drug toxicity, with heroin and alcohol among the substances found in his body.

In 2013, the "Cannonball" singer opened up to Ellen DeGeneres, saying, "My mom has experienced a lot of loss in her life and she told me at one point, there is an empowerment that comes with grief—at some point you find it. It's very hard but you will find it, and I think at a certain point you can choose to sort of fall from this or you can choose to rise. And that's what I'm just trying to do my best for him, because I know that that's what he would have." Michele said she hopes to "make something positive for where I go in the rest of my life."

Michele also talked about her loss in a 2014 Seventeen cover story.

"I only have happy memories of Cory. He was not his addiction—unfortunately, it won. But that wasn't who he was. Cory made me feel like a queen every day," the actress said. "From the minute he said, 'I'm your boyfriend,' I loved every day, and I thank him for being the best boyfriend and making me feel so beautiful."