Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

There’s only oneGleeepisodeLea Michelehasn’t seen.
During the first performance of herAn Evening With Lea Michele: Life in Musictour, theScream Queensalum, 35, revealed she has never watchedGlee’s tribute episode to late starCory Monteith.
Monteith, who played Finn Hudson on the FOX series, died on July 13 of the same year of a drug overdose.
“I think if I don’t watch it, it just kind of feels like Finn is still there,” Michele said while on stage at City Winery in Washington, D.C., last week. “So this [song, ‘Make You Feel My Love’] is really special.”
In the clip, the Broadway star also opened up about how she came to perform the song onGleein honor of Monteith — whom she dated off screen from 2012 until his death — after series creatorRyan Murphyasked her to choose a tune for her character to sing in the episode.
“I don’t even remember what I was listening to at the time. Like, nothing. I was just in such a hole,” Michele said, addressing the crowd.
“I’m grateful that [Murphy] asked me. I really, really, really am. Because it needed to be something that felt real for me. But it was also so hard,” she added.
Michele also said that much of whatGleefans watched on “The Quarterback” mirrored her experiences in real life.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“A lot of what I say to [Matthew Morrison’s] character in that classroom were exact words that I said to Ryan after everything,” she said. “I said I don’t want to be treated with kid gloves. I want to just come back to work and be with everyone because this is the only way I’m going to feel better.”
Lea Michele and Cory Monteith.Christopher Polk/Getty Images

TheSpring Awakeningstar said that filming “Make You Feel My Love” was “really hard,” adding: “I would film it, and then I would run off, and then I would come back. And it was wild and hard, but we healed together, and this song helped.”
Michele — whomarried Zandy Reichin 2019 and welcomedson Ever Leoin August 2020 —paid tribute to Monteithon Instagram on the ninth anniversary of his death earlier this month.
She shared a photo viaInstagram Storyof herself and her former costar filming an episode ofGleein New York City in 2011. The pair smiled lovingly at each other in the snap.
RELATED VIDEO: Lea Michele Will Join Broadway’s Funny Girl as Fanny Brice After Beanie Feldstein’s Early Exit
Monteith, then 28, was dressed sharply in a tux, while Michele carried a mixed bouquet of flowers that popped against her light blue dress. She kept the tribute simple, with a single heart emoji below the photo.
Beginning Sept. 6, Michele will return to the Broadway stage to take over the role of Fanny Brice in the revival ofFunny Girl;Beanie Feldsteinwill play her final performance July 31.
source: people.com