Cory Monteith’s experiences with addiction went back years, and he had almost died before. In 2011, he told Parade that he was “lucky on so many counts — I’m lucky to be alive.” Speaking to People in 2018, Monteith’s mother, Ann McGregor, said his substance abuse began at just age 13 when he started associating with an older crowd. In 2014, she told ABC News that he overdosed and almost died at just 15. She checked him into rehab the same year, but he entered once again at 19 after continuing to use. According to McGregor, Hollywood at least partly drove his substance abuse. “He was stressed because he wanted to get out of that world but he couldn’t because he had two more years left on his contract,” she said. “Drugs were his way of checking out.”
Monteith told Parade his first rehab experience at 19 after his family staged an intervention. “That’s when I first went to rehab,” he said. “I did the stint but then went back to doing exactly what I left off doing.” He eventually got coughing stealing from family — what he calls the “crystallizing event.” The family member told him to get clean or they would press charges, so he moved to a small city in Canada and began focusing on acting while working as a roofer.
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If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
