The Massive Pop Star That Secretly Dated Lea Michele

Lea Michele is perhaps one of the most famous entertainers to come out of Fox's hit teen dramedy "Glee," which ran from 2009 to 2015. Widely considered one the show's breakout stars, Lea Michele skyrocketed to fame as the arguable female lead, playing the annoying and controlling, yet highly talented Rachel Berry, the performance of which Michele has said she based largely on herself. For her acclaimed role on the show, Michele was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, two Golden Globes, and even a Grammy, alongside the rest of the cast, for their iconic rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." 

It is no surprise, then, that Michele has arguably had the most successful career of her respective castmates since their time on the show, most notably as a singer. She has released four studio albums in the time since, the first of which topped the charts in the week of its release in 2014, the year before "Glee" ended. 

Michele's personal life has also been the subject of much speculation, largely beginning with her prominent relationship with "Glee" co-star Cory Monteith, who played Rachel's on-off boyfriend, Finn Hudson. Michele and Monteith began dating sometime around 2012, and remained together until his death in 2013. However, what many fans may not know is that, in the time since, Michele secretly dated another massive pop star, one who is not afraid to name-drop her.

Although Lea Michele isn't known for dating many men after the tragic and unexpected death of her boyfriend Cory Monteith, there is at least one massive name who secretly dated the singer-actor sometime between Monteith and Reich: pop star Charlie Puth. 

In an October 2017 appearance on the "Capital Breakfast" show, Puth bluntly revealed that he had once dated Michele, though did not delve into details. When asked by host Roman Kemp, "Which celebrity have you been on dates with that we don't know about?", he simply responded, "Lea Michele, done." 

Though not much is known about the nature of the two musicians' relationship, the pair was spotted together in May 2017, stepping out of a Hollywood restaurant, in what appeared to be a "date night." However, nothing else was reported in the press, and by October, it seemed as though Puth was implying that whatever relationship they had was in the past. This would make sense, considering the timeline of her relationship with her current husband. 

Apart from her relationship and apparent "dates" with Cory Monteith and Charlie Puth, respectively, it appears as though Lea Michele has chosen to keep the details of her love life relatively secret. By July 2017, however, it was reported by People that she was dating her friend, businessman Zandy Reich. A source told the outlet at the time that the pair had been friends for "a few years," and that "things turned romantic recently." 

Turns out, Michele is not afraid to express how important he is to her. "When I'm not working, I'm at home with my cat, with my family, with my boyfriend, with the people that I love," she told People in November 2017, "and that's how I reset, and that's how I center myself. It's so important to tune out the noise and the unnecessary, and just focus on the people that you love because they know you better than anyone." Less than a year later, in April 2018, Michele announced on Instagram that she and Reich were engaged.

Michele and Reich got married the following year, in March 2019, and had their first (and so far only) child, son Ever Leo, in August 2020. So, although it turns out that at least one massive pop star dated Michele for a period of time, it is clear that despite her fame and success, the former "Glee" star prefers to live a more simple and private life.