Lea Michele is slowly but surely moving on. Nearly a year after the death of her boyfriend and Glee costar Cory Monteith, the singer/actress is dipping her toes into the dating pool again, this time with a guy named Matthew Paetz, sources confirm to Us Weekly.
Michele, 27, met Paetz on the set of her music video for “On My Way,” one insider tells Us. “She had just come from Coachella where she was missing Cory incredibly,” the source says. “[The video shoot] was a big party and a really therapeutic moment for her.”
According to his Twitter account, Paetz is a dating and lifestyle coach. TMZ reports, however, that he also has a past as a male escort for the site Cowboys4Angels. (In a strange twist of life imitating art, Michele’s Glee character, Rachel Berry, dated a college classmate who moonlighted as a gigolo in season four.)
This is the “If You Say So” singer’s first relationship since Monteith died of heroin and alcohol toxicity last July. Prior to his death at age 31, the couple of a year and a half had “talked about children” and growing old together, Michele told Glamour UK earlier this year. “We were done. We were it,” she said.
After his passing, Michele took some time to grieve and recover. “I feel like it’s so important to make sure that I’m 100 percent okay before I can get into a relationship,” the star (whose exes include Theo Stockman) said. “But people have to understand that I can’t be alone forever. Cory wouldn’t want that.”