Cory Monteith dead: Lea Michele asks for privacy following her boyfriend’s death

Cory Monteith’s girlfriend and Glee co-star Lea Michele has asked for “privacy at this devastating time” following the death of her boyfriend.

Lea Michele, 26, released a statement on Sunday after her 31-year-old Glee co-star Cory Monteith was found dead in his hotel room in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday.

“We ask that everyone kindly respect Lea’s privacy during this devastating time,” a representative for Lea Michele told People magazine.

Cory Monteith had been in his luxury hotel room with friends on Saturday evening before heading out for the night. Lea Michele is not believed to have been with him.

“She [Lea Michele] is absolutely hysterical and completely inconsolable,” a source told HollywoodLife.com.

“She is devastated beyond belief.”

A friend of the star was spotted leaving Lea Michele’s Los Angeles home on Sunday morning to meet another friend with what appeared to be an overnight bag.

No cause of death has been confirmed at this point but there was said to be no implications of foul play. Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy on Monday.

Cory Monteith – who completed a stint of rehab in April for substance addiction – was last pictured with Lea Michele just last month.

Lea Michele and Cory Monteith are believed to have dated for around two years, with the actress and singer discussing her feelings for her co-star in an interview in Marie Claire magazine earlier this year.

“I don’t even remember a time when he wasn’t my boyfriend. No one knows me better than Cory,” Lea Michele told the January issue of the magazine.

“No one knows what it’s been like to go through this more than he does. Feeling like you have that net underneath you allows you to jump higher and go farther. He makes me feel like I can do anything.

“For the first time in my life, I feel really, really settled and happy,” she said.

“I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”

Cory Monteith is said to have spent his last hours enjoying an evening out with friends before he tragically passed away of unknown causes while alone in a hotel room.