Wow, I was not expecting this at all. Granted, it’s not like I keep a list of “Celebrities Who Will Probably Check Into Rehab This Year,” but if I did keep a list like that, I wouldn’t have added Cory Monteith’s name. According to an official and exclusive statement to People Magazine, Cory is checking into rehab to deal with “substance addiction”. He doesn’t specify what substance, so your guess is as good as mine:

Actor Cory Monteith, who stars as Finn Hudson on the Fox series Glee, has checked into rehab, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

The actor “has voluntarily admitted himself to a treatment facility for substance addiction,” his rep tells PEOPLE. “He graciously asks for your respect and privacy as he takes the necessary steps towards recovery.”

Monteith, 30, has been open about his past struggles with substance abuse. He admitted in a 2011 interview that he had previously entered rehab when he was 19.

At the time, the actor said he hoped being honest about his struggle with substance addiction would help others.

“I don’t want kids to think it’s okay to drop out of school and get high, and they’ll be famous actors, too,” he said in 2011. “But for those people who might give up: Get real about what you want and go after it.”

[From People]

Oh, I think I knew that already, that he had been in rehab as a kid? But I had forgotten it. Well, I have to applaud Cory for dealing with these issues BEFORE he caused a car accident or punched his dealer in a club at 3 am. Ever since Cory got together with Lea Michele, they both have seemed… nicer. Less famewhore-y. And they haven’t been courting the media either. For what it’s worth, Lea issued her own statement about her boyfriend’s rehab:

Glee star Lea Michele is supporting her costar and boyfriend Cory Monteith as he enters rehab for substance addiction.

“I love and support Cory and will stand by him through this,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I am grateful and proud he made this decision.”

Michele and Monteith took their romance public in April of last year and have been spotted around Los Angeles together, most recently at a Los Angeles Kings game on March 23.

Michele, 26, has been quite vocal about her feelings for her beau, telling PEOPLE in 2012, “He really, really inspires me, and he motivates me and I think he’s just so talented.”

[From People]

She’s 26 years old – the same age as Lindsay Lohan. I’m not comparing them, I just found it interesting that they’re the same age. I wonder if Lea realized Cory had a problem? I wonder if Lea was the one to suggest that he check into rehab again? Anyway, send good thoughts to Cory.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Here are some new photos of Lea Michele and Cory Monteith in Hollywood yesterday. I think they were going out to eat. How long have they been together now? The rumors about them started shortly after the awards season, like early March or so. So… maybe they’ve been seeing each other for the better part of four months, if not longer? Does that surprise you? It surprises me. Although this is far from the first coupled-up, loved-up candid photo op from the two of them, they haven’t really been in-our-faces about it either. They just seem to be dating in some sort of half-public, half-private way – not pushing it in the tabloids, not setting up endless photo-ops, but not hiding it either. I kind of like the way they’re handling it.

As for Lea’s casual outfit… I dislike the jeans. I loathe the shoes. And I kind of want her sweater. I love those kinds of sweaters. Don’t even start with the “Does she have a bump?” questions though. Although my first instinct was to “Bump Watch” her, let’s not go there. Lea has some issues with dieting and stuff, and I’d like to think that she can gain a few pounds without everyone thinking that she’s pregnant. She looks fine. She looks healthy. She just needs to throw out the shoes.

So… are Lea and Cory going strong? I would say so. My guess is that they’ll make it for a while longer. Maybe even a year or more.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

These are some photos from the 11th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball, held over the weekend in LA. Usually the Chrysalis Ball isn’t some huge, A-list event, but they usually get at least one or two A-listers in attendance, like Jennifer Garner or Mark Wahlberg. Not so much this year – I think the biggest star in attendance was Lea Michele. No disrespect to Lea, but… really? She’s the big “get”? Anyway… Lea wore BANGS and Emilio Pucci. I don’t completely hate the dress, I just think Lea did the dress the wrong way. Like, she doesn’t look comfortable in it and if she really wanted to show off the back of the gown, she should have done her hair in an elegant updo. Unfortunately, when you have bangs, elegant updos are difficult. Which is another reason to avoid bangs.

Also: does anyone else have any thoughts on whether Lea got her boobs done? She was looking especially busty last month and I didn’t think it was anything, but I’m starting to wonder.

Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane. NO JOKE. THAT is Eric Dane. Drugs or surgery? Or just really awful lighting?

Ryan Kwanten is such a cutie. Love his suit.

Lea Michele’s BOYFRIEND Cory Monteith was at the event – they walked the carpet separately, but they posed together inside the event. They actually seem to be dating, for real. As for that thing on Cory’s head… I’m assuming it’s just a really bad dye job, right? He’s not wearing a rug, is he?

Speaking of Eric Dane’s drug buddy (allegedly, or just going by appearances), Balthazar Getty with his wife Rosetta. This couple cracks me up to no end. Rosetta seems legitimately crazy and Balthy is just a sketchy bastard.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

These are photos from a few days ago of Lea Michele attending the “Glee” Screening, and she looks pretty cute in a very short white Jenni Kayne dress. As always, Lea posed (hard) on the red carpet while solo, and presumably she and Cory Monteith didn’t want to attract attention to themselves as a couple even though they’ve been quietly dating and spent this past Valentine’s Day together. Lea’s strappy, high-heeled sandals add a nice effect to her simple dress. (I’ve got no idea who designed them.)

Lea has some good reason to celebrate these days outside of work too. According to RealEstalker, Lea just purchased a new Los Angeles “starter” home that came at a price tag of $1.4 million and is basically a fancy bungalow with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Here’s a follow-up story about Lea’s lovely home and how she’s now spending all her time there with Cory:

Lea Michele is happier than ever and filled with “glee” now that she’s bought her self this gorgeous $1.4 million Hollywood mini-mansion and has a new boyfriend — her co-star Cory Monteith — to share it with. “He has really brought out a different side of her,” reveals a friend of the actress, who has watched her romance with Cory, 30, blossom over time and says Lea’s purchase shows how serious she is about setting down roots and starting a new life with him. “She really feels stable and confident about Cory,” says the friend.

Insiders say Lea, 25, wh had been single since calling it quits last year with her longtime boyfriend, Broadway actor Theo Stockman, has been secretly dating Cory since fall, but is just now letting the world in on their romance. The couple has been doing more and more things together, such as canoodling n public at the recent Coachella music festival, taking a trip to Cory’s hometown of Vancouver to meet his family and friends, and jetting off to a romantic vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. “They seem to be really happy together,” says the friend. Although Lea has yet to comment publicly on her romance, reportedly the couple was extra-affectionate when on the set together, and during Coachella she tweeted that she was wtih her “hot” Canadian beau.

Best of all, now that Lea has purchased her very own Hollywood “starteer crib,” she’ll be able to spend a lot of nights cuddled on the couch with Cory, engaging in her favorite pastime — watching TV.

“I’m not really a big going-out girl,” reveals Lea. As for her romance with Cory, the two will most likely be spending the majority of their “Glee” summer hiatus huddled together at her new home. “She thinks she and Cory can be something serious,” says the friend.

[From In Touch, print edition, May 14, 2012]

Another story in this week’s Star (via Hollywood Life) reports further that Lea and Cory are completely shacking up with each other in Lea’s new home, basically because he’s tired of living with three other dudes. How romantic.

Seriously though, even though Lea doesn’t have the greatest rep as a nice person, she’s got a lovely new home! Here are some more pictures of it.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and The Real EStalker

Last September, Lea Michele announced her split with Theo Stockman, her boyfriend of a year. Since then, Lea hasn’t really been “attached” to anyone publicly, although she and Ashton Kutcher were all over each other at the New Year’s Eve premiere, and there was a rumor that Lea wanted to hit that. I don’t believe Ashton succumbed to Lea’s charms, so that left her single and ready to mingle. And sometimes you find love right in front of you – in your costar and on-screen love interest! Life & Style reports that Lea is getting busy with Cory Monteith. Love it or hate it?

At last! Life & Style can exclusively confirm that Glee co-stars Cory Monteith and Lea Michele have finally taken their relationship to the next level offscreen!

Multiple eyewitnesses tell the new issue of Life & Style, on newsstands Wednesday, that Lea, 25, and Cory, 29, got cozy on Valentine’s Day during a romantic date at Il Covo in LA.

“They were into each other all night,” an eyewitness reveals to Life & Style. “She was very happy, flirting and touching Cory a lot. He just stared at her with puppy-dog eyes.”

The duo didn’t hold back from showing their affection, giggling and holding handing hands throughout the evening. The eyewitness tells Life & Style that Cory fed his valentine spaghetti and Lea reciprocated by affectionately rubbing her date’s back. The couple were spotted again on a date at the Ritz-Carlton on Feb. 17.

“Cory is totally into her,” a Glee crew member confesses to Life & Style.

Lea split from her longtime beau Theo Stockman in September, and the actress and Cory were caught canoodling on the Glee set in November. But the lovebirds’ chemistry has been undeniable from the start.

“For me, if it was going to happen with anybody, it would have happened with Cory,” she admitted in 2011. And with grueling 16-hour workdays and an infectious engagement plotline, the duo have become closer than ever. “As long as I get to have scenes with Cory, it makes me really happy,” Lea has said.

The stars’ reps didn’t respond when asked for comment.

[From Life & Style]

Do you buy that Cory is all over Lea? I kind of don’t. No disrespect to Pose-Hard, but she seems like The Girl Who Loves Too Much. She’s the one pushing a dude into a relationship, she’s the pursuer. I also think Lea has been trying to get with Cory for a while – in previous interviews, she’s said that they hadn’t hooked up… “yet.” She’s had her eye on him for a while.

Now, I have to admit, although I loathe Glee and I’m not a big Lea fan, I kind of like this match-up. Cory has dated girls like Taylor Swift in the past, and hey, dude is almost 30 years old. I hope their relationship is for real, and I hope it’s solid too. Because if Lea gets her heart broken, it will be a MESS.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet, Teen Vogue, GQ.

It was just a week and a half ago that Glee creator Ryan Murphy announced that several key castmembers were off the show after next season, when their characters would be graduating. Lead characters Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, and Chris Colfer would be seniors next season, after which Murphy claimed they would be leaving. Murphy made it clear that he hadn’t informed all of the actors ahead of time that their time on the show was up, and Chris Colfer later admitted that he found out the news on Twitter. Later, Glee’s Amber Riley said she had no idea if she would be returning to the show after the next season, but added “Whatever happens this third season is what happens… it’s something that’s not that surprising to us.”

In a panel at Comic Con over the weekend, Glee’s executive producer Brad Falchuck said that it wasn’t true that Monteith, Michele and Colfer would all be leaving after next year, and that there were other ways that their characters could continue on the show without staying in high school. He said there probably won’t be a spinoff though. One familiar face that won’t be back on the show is Chord Overstreet, as has been rumored.

Right off the bat, the current situation involving Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, and Chris Colfer graduating and leaving the show for good came up, and executive producer Brad Falchuck finally set the record straight. Plus, what’s the real deal with Chord Overstreet not returning for season three?

Although it was reported by every outlet around that Ryan Murphy announced Michele, Monteith and Colfer would be graduating at the end of next season and not returning to the show in any capacity, Falchuck claims that’s not the case at all.

“They’re seniors. They’re graduating. But [just] because they’re graduating doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show,” he said to the anxious crowd. “If you have Lea Michele under contract, you don’t say, ‘We’re gonna let you go.’ It was never our plan or our intention to let them go. They are not done with the show after this season.”

There you go, Glee fans. Looks like we won’t be seeing the last of Rachel, Finn and Kurt after season three.

Falchuck also spoke about the Overstreet situation, claiming they did ask him back, but he declined. “We did invite him back for a portion of the season, to see if being a regular was a possibility,” he explained. “But he declined the offer, which we were really disappointed by.”

It’s an unfortunate circumstance, because according to the show runners, they had a lot planned for him in season three. “We wanted him back because we like Chord personally and had some good stories planned for him and with Mercedes (Amber Riley). He decided he would have opportunities elsewhere that he would like to pursue, and we can’t force him to work, so we wished him well.”

[From E! Online]

It sounds like there’s a voice of reason among the management on that show after all. And it sounds like Lea Michele’s lawyers gave her employers a call and let them know they couldn’t just fire her through the press. Good for them.

Do you think that Glee Project reality competition show has Murphy assuming that he can get more compliant talent much cheaper? There’s still the issue of a toxic work environment.

Photo credit: Fame pictures

We heard last week that Australian actor Chord Overstreet, 22, would not be back at Glee next year. It made me wonder if Chord was getting a little too big for his britches now that he’s dating Emma Roberts, who has a reputation for being difficult. The news was in People and everything and Glee creator Ryan Murphy confirmed it to The Hollywood Reporter, so it sounded official.

Only someone at Glee later tried to take it back. A source told TV Line’s Michael Ausiello that Overstreet could possibly work on the series still. They made it sound like a contract negotiation issue: “[Overstreet's] option to be a series regular was just not picked up at this time. If Chord wants to appear on Glee, the choice is his. The Glee writers like his Sam character, and have plans to write for him. He and his reps have been told that he is welcome back to Glee, and everyone hopes he will show up on August 10 when filming begins.” Glee was Chord’s big break, so he should stick around for a while.

Now there’s news that Season three, next year’s season from 2011-2012, will be the last for three of the main stars, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer. Their characters are set to graduate and creator Murphy explained that it wouldn’t be authentic if they stayed in high school forever:

Glee regulars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer will not be back for the fourth season of the Fox musical hit.

In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creator Ryan Murphy said that the three regulars will be among the characters who graduate at the end of the fall’s upcoming third season.

Colfer, Michele and Monteith are not going to be back at all for Season 4. Murphy tells THR: “You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year.”
Murphy added that planning for the future beyond high school will be a heavy theme during Season 3, noting that “more characters are leaving than are staying” when graduation time comes at the season’s end.

“We’ve never done anything by the book,” he said, adding that who’s graduating and who’s staying will be revealed in the Sept. 20 season premiere. “We made that decision and I involved Chris and Lea and they thought that was a good idea. They both trust the writing and trust me and felt that it would be great to have an open and closed experience for them to go out while they were on top.”

Murphy and co-creators Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan’s decision to graduate the trio — among others — has been well-received by the show’s new writers, he said. The group recently returned to work and are writing story lines that include several characters’ parents as the college talk heats up.

“We already made the decision before the new writers came in, but everybody likes where we’re taking it and what we’re writing toward,” Murphy said, noting that while he loved the “relationship roulette” from Season 2, the upcoming run would find everyone’s love lives more stable.

“I’m much more interested in Lea’s character — not so much on her relationship with Finn, but more on what her dreams are beyond high school and how she plans on getting them,” he added. “That’s what my senior year was about.”

Murphy acknowledged that while he hasn’t discussed graduation plans with Monteith yet, he presumes he’s aware that Finn will be among those graduating. “He knows he was a sophomore when the show started.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Doesn’t it seem like there must be a lot of tension on set? Murphy is admitting that he never told one of the main stars, Cory Monteith, that next year will be the last he’s appearing on the show. So he told the press about it before he even bothered to give a heads up to Monteith. His response as to why was kind of shrug and “he should have known.” That’s ridiculous and unbelievable. We’ve heard about the long hours these kids work on set and it just sounds like Murphy is hostile.

Every since Murphy had all that Twitter drama and started calling out artists for not licensing their music to him I’ve soured on this show. Now that I see how unfairly the stars are treated, I have no regrets about not bothering to watch it this season.

Ryan Murphy:

Cory Monteith:

Lea Michele:

Chris Colfer:

Chord Overstreet:

Of all the actors on Glee, the last one I would have expected to have had drug problems is Cory Monteith. He just seems so nice, normal and wholesome. Sure his character is like that too, but he’s very kind in interviews, he seems low key and apart from a brief stint dating Taylor Swift he’s in no way “Hollywood.” It’s not like he’s been papped out at the clubs or the hotspots, and he doesn’t go to a lot of events. We may know now why Monteith, who is an incredible 29 years old yet convincingly plays a teenager, stays under the radar. He recently told Parade that he went to rehab 10 years ago for a very serious drug addiction that easily could have killed him. That’s shocking!

“I’m not Finn Hudson,” Monteith says of his beloved Glee character in the exclusive interview with Shawna Malcom in Sunday’s PARADE. Discussing his troubled past as he never has before, Monteith explains, “I’m lucky on so many counts—I’m lucky to be alive.”

His parents divorced when he was 7, and by 13, Monteith—once a promising student who at age 5 could read at a fourth-grade level—was skipping school to get drunk and smoke pot. Monteith estimate s that by the age of 16, when he quit for good, he had attended 12 different schools, including alternative programs for troubled teens. “I burned a lot of bridges,” he says. “I was out of control.”

At that point, so was his drug use. Monteith admits, “I had a serious problem.” What kinds of drugs? “Anything and everything, as much as possible.”

Afraid that he “could die,” his mother and a group of friends staged an intervention when he was 19. “That’s when I first went to rehab. I did the stint but then went back to doing exactly what I left off doing.” Monteith might have continued down that path if not for what he calls “the crystallizing event.”

“I stole a significant amount of money from a family member,” he admits. “I knew I was going to get caught, but I was so desperate I didn’t care. It was a cry for help. I was confronted and I said, ‘Yeah, it was me.’ It was the first honorable, truthful thing that had come out of my mouth in years.”

He was given an ultimatum: Get clean, or the family member would report him to the police and press charges. Although it wasn’t the first time Monteith had taken something that didn’t belong to him (“A lot of things went missing when I was around; I had high overhead to take care of ”), up until that point he had avoided prosecution.

“I was done fighting myself,” Cory recalls of his turning point. “I finally said, ‘I’m gonna start looking at my life and figure out why I’m doing this.’”

[From Parade]

I can’t imagine what his poor mother must have gone through to see her son spiral so quickly like that. There’s more on Parade about how Cory reunited with his dad after not seeing him for 17 years. I found what he said about the reunion very touching “at some point, you realize your parents are human. They make the best decisions they can with the options available to them.” He sounds so wise. Cory previously told Teen Vogue that he studies the people in the tabloids “who have kind of gone off the edge… so that I don’t do that.” It sounds like he’s already had plenty of experience with that and unlike a lot of the celebrities in the tabloids he learned from his mistakes and got sober long term.

Cory is shown in May, March and January, 2011. Credit: WENN.com

Yesterday, I wrote about the new photos of the Glee cast as they film in New York City. I asked the question: “It’s as if someone is trying to make Lea Michele look like hell, right?” So… these are newer photos from the Glee Manhattan-athon, and I still have to ask: what did Lea Michele do to piss off the wardrobe, hair and makeup departments? It must have been something really bad. Like this face:

In most the shots below, Lea is in the same hideous Rainbow Brite striped coat (and the unfortunate outfit underneath the coat. But in the other shots – where she’s with Cory Monteith, Lea is wearing what I’m assuming is some “romantic” dress. Except that it doesn’t look cool and vintagey, it looks dated and sad (to me). And Cory looks super-engaged with Lea’s drama machine, doesn’t he? He’s so over it. And I love how Lea is always so incredibly aware of the camera.

By the way, the Emmy nominations will be coming out soon (within a few weeks, I think), and Lea is considered a shoo-in for another nomination for Lead Actress in a Comedy. If she’s up against people like Mary-Louise Parker, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, what are Lea’s chances? Read more about it here at the Los Angeles Times.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Everybody and their brother was at Coachella over the weekend, or to quote Michael K from DListed “celebrities from all lists.” We’ve already seen Alex Skarsgard putting up with Kate Bosworth and Dita Von Teese and her French boyfriend looking like they were born Photoshopped and perfectly accessorized. There were plenty more people at the music festival trying to work their casual looks and score some swag.

First off is Vanessa Hudgens barefoot in a ridiculous crochet crop top and cutoffs hunting for a new man. I don’t know who looks more ridiculous, Vanessa or her buddy with the fringe purse and purple fringe boots. That’s the kind of friend who helps enable a look like this.

Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger were coupled up as they always are. Her pink striped dress needs to be about 3 inches longer. I hope she’s wearing some full coverage panties.

Ashley Greene tried to work a fedora while standing next to a guy who looks enough like Joe Jonas to get people talking.

Isabel Lucas was a hot hippie mess as usual.

Cory Monteith thinks he’s a rock star. I’m just counting down the days until Glee gets canceled and these kids fade into obscurity. He’s relatively harmless though and it’s nice that he’s posing with fans.

Whitney Port is trying to bring back the tied on the side T-shirt. Was that ever in style apart from a few months in the late 80s? Sloppy.

Malin Ackerman. I barely know who she is but this photo cracks me the hell up. Anyone who can look this smug while wearing an outfit that terrible must have some acting ability. Check out her boyfriend. (Update: that’s her husband of 5 years, Roberto Zincone. Thanks Fabianne!)

Kelly Osbourne looks surprisingly well put together and covered up until you scroll down and see her bowling shoes.

Paris Hilton still looks pregnant. Compared to everyone else she’s dressed pretty well. On any other occasion this dress would be a fail though.

Dita Von Teese looking nautically fresh in an outfit we haven’t yet seen. She wipes the floor with everyone else and she knows it. She also has the perfect accessory in that French aristocrat. Bitch even picked a drink that color coordinated with her outfit.

Tallulah Willis turned 17 in February and here she is in a bikini top, smoking a cigarette and showing off a tattoo on her hip. I would say that this could be a case of mistaken identity, but the Willis genes are strong with this one.