Lea Michele and Kate Hudson are way more than just Glee co-stars. In a new interview, Michele reveals the big role Hudson played in her life after Cory Monteith died.

In a new interview with Elle Magazine, Michele opens up about the days following her boyfriend’s death caused by an overdose in mid-July. The Glee actress says that Hudson was one of the first people she called after learning Monteith had died.

“I called her and said, ‘I don’t know where I’m going to go because my house is swarmed [with reporters].’ She was like, ‘Oh, you’re going to stay at my house.’ Like it was nothing.”

Hudson not only invited Michele to stay but encouraged her family to come over too. “She let my family stay there, and any of my friends. She made sure that in the refrigerator were my favorite juices. I’ll never really be able to thank her, truly, for what she did for me.”

Michele also spoke about the struggle of moving on in life after a major tragedy like this one. “You have to be very strong to come out of this alive, but I think by doing the best for myself, by showing that you don’t have to lose yourself, maybe someone else will feel some sort of strength or comfort,” she said.

Finally, the singer/actress said she thinks Monteith would want her to use this tragedy to do good in the world, but Michele is still thinking about how to do that. “I know that Cory would want nothing more than for me to take this situation and use it to help people. I don’t know if I will. I don’t know how,” she admitted.

Elle’s December issue with Michele’s cover story hits newsstands November 19. You can see photos from her shoot on the magazine’s site.

Glee season 5’s most recent episode aired in early October and was the casts’ tribute to Monteith/Finn Hudson. After taking a small break to regroup, Glee moves on this Thursday at 9 p.m. eastern/pacific with a new episode titled “A Katy or A Gaga.” See photos from the episode co-starring Adam Lambert now. In another story you can hear Lambert perform Gaga’s “Marry The Night.”