Aubrey Plaza opens up about grief after husband Jeff Baena’s death

Aubrey Plaza is continuing to grieve her late husband, Jeff Baena.

The actress, 41, appeared on her “Parks and Recreation” co-star Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast Tuesday and opened up about how she’s doing after Baena died by suicide at age 47 in January.

“To just to get it out the way, people want to see you and want to see how you are, they love you,” Poehler, 41, told Plaza, noting that the “White Lotus” star has had a “terrible, tragic year.”

“You lost your husband,” Poelher continued, “you’ve been dealing with that and you’ve been looking for all different ways in which to feel and find support. On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?” 

As Plaza petted her dog, Frankie, she responded: “Right in this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you.”

“Overall, I’m here and I’m functioning,” she went on. “I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m okay, but it’s like a daily struggle, obviously.”

The “Emily the Criminal” actress compared her grieving experience to the 2025 horror film “The Gorge” starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy.

“In the movie, there’s like a cliff on one side and there’s a cliff on the other side, then there’s gorge in between and it’s filled with all these like monster people that are trying to get them,” Plaza explained.

“I swear when I watched it, I was like that feels like what my grief is like, or what grief could be like,” she shared. “At all times there’s like a giant ocean of awfulness, that’s like right there and I can see it. Sometimes I just want to dive into it, and just like be in it. Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it.”

“But, it’s always there,” Plaza concluded.

Plaza and Baena were together for over 13 years before his death. They got married in 2021 but never publicly announced their wedding. Fans did not learn about their union until Plaza referred to Baena as “my darling husband” on Instagram in May 2021.

Baena was best known for directing films such as the horror comedy “Life After Beth” (2014) and the 2017 comedy-drama “The Little Hours.”

At the time of Baena’s death, he and Plaza had been separated for four months.

On January 3, the filmmaker was found dead by an assistant at his home in the Los Angeles area.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Baena and Plaza’s family said in a statement to The Post. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Plaza made her first red carpet appearance after Baena’s death in May at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of her film “Honey Don’t!”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.