‘Glee’ Star Lauren Potter Shares Heartache After Engagement Ended

“Glee” star Lauren Potter is deeply saddened after her engagement to childhood friend Timothy Spear has ended.

She accepted a promise ring from her beau, Spear, last August. However, their relationship experienced a strain because of her fame. “It hurts,” Potter told PEOPLE. “After we got married I wanted to wake up and see him make breakfast for me. I loved him so much.”

Potter’s mother, Robin Sinkhord, said that Spear was actually overwhelmed because of all the publicity her daughter was getting.

Potter said yes to Spear’s proposal during a picnic in Laguna Beach over the summer, according to E! News. It was a sweet moment for the couple, since they had known each other since birth. “He picked out the ring, made payments on it, and then planned the picnic and the moment to get down on one knee to ask her to promise to be his one-and-only and marry him when they are ready,” Sinkhorn earlier said of the proposal.

Sinkhorn and Spear’s mom took the same baby classes together, so they go way back. Both Potter and Spear have Down Syndrome, and it was only later in life that they started their romantic relationship. “When Lauren ended a relationship, Timothy immediately asked her out and they have been together since,” said Sinkhorn.

Potter shot to fame after playing cheerleader Becky Jackson in “Glee” from 2009 until 2015. She filmed a lot of scenes with Jamie Lynch, who played Sue Sylvester.

The actress feels fortunate that she got to portray characters with special needs on TV, and she is grateful to all the films and series that are opening doors to different people “regardless of ability.”

For now, Potter is going to appear in the upcoming finale of another series, “Switched at Birth.”