United Kingdom, May 9 -- Lea Michele "completely broke" after Cory Monteith's death.

The 38-year-old actress - who shot to fame playing Rachel Berry in 'Glee' - dated her co-star from 2012 until his shock death from a heroin and alcohol overdose in July 2013, and not only did she find having to grieve in the public eye "so sad, so depressing", she felt the tragedy "fractured" many of the off-screen bonds on the show.

She told the 'Therapuss with Jake Shane' podcast: "It was so unbelievable but I just had to keep going, I wasn't allowed to stop."

Asked if Cory's death had helped the cast "band together", she added: "No, I think it really fractured so much. I mean again, I can't speak for everyone, I think in some ways it did for certain...