A year has passed since "Glee" actor Cory Monteith's death, but for his father Joe, life still feels "empty."
The late star's father spoke to Entertainment Tonight Canada about the loss of his son. Cory was reportedly estranged from his father for much of his life, but the two began to reconnect before his death.
"I still miss him very much and I still have the empty feeling," he said. "Cory was a likeable young man and if he was in the room, you'd be smiling. He enjoyed life. That's why I was so shocked about the outcome of everything.''
Joe admitted that Cory's mother Ann McGregor, whom he divorced in 1989, did not invite him to attend his son's funeral ceremony. The actor's mother held a private viewing for her son before he was cremated - only inviting Cory's co-star and girlfriend Lea Michele and his brother Shaun.
"I did receive an email from his mother a couple of days ago [and] in the near future she's going to be sending me some of his stuff," Joe revealed.
Cory was well known as a Finn Hudson, a soulful jock turned singer on FOX's "Glee". His body was found in a Vancouver hotel room on July 13, 2013 and according to toxicology reports, the actor died of mixed drug toxicity which involved "intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol."
The actor has struggled with substance abuse in the past and completed a stint in rehab months before his death. In Parade Magazine, he revealed his troubled past and admitted that he turned to drugs and alcohol after his parents divorced. His substance abuse also led him to drop out of school.
Joe said he learned of his son's stint in rehab while watching the news on television, and added that he never talked to his son while "he was in rehab and then all of a sudden four weeks later he was out of rehab ... I thought that was kind of soon."
Despite his feelings towards losing his son, Joe revealed that he was happy for Cory's former girlfriend, who has reportedly started dating again.
"[Lea is] a beautiful young woman, she's just getting to the top of her career and I don't expect her to go out and do it alone," he said. "She should enjoy life. She had a good time when she was with Cory, from what I understand, but life's gotta go on."
