Cory Monteith's birthday tribute from Lea Michele

If Cory Monteith had lived, he would have turned 32 on May 11.

But even in his absence, his girlfriend Lea Michele has commemorated the occasion by remembering Monteith as he was: a man with a "beautiful smile."

"The biggest heart and most beautiful smile," Michele wrote along with a black-and-white photo of herself with a cheery Monteith. "In all of our hearts.. We love you so. Happy Birthday."

Michele and Monteith met on Fox's "Glee," and began dating publicly in 2012. Monteith had been open about his struggles with substance abuse, and when he voluntarily checked into rehab in the spring of 2013, Michele was vocally supportive.

Sadly, that following July Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room. A coroner's report concluded that the actor died of "mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol."