Content warning: This story discusses suicide.
Aubrey Plaza is opening up about the heartache of husband Jeff Baena‘s death.
Seven months afterthe director died by suicide at age 47, the Parks and Recreation alum detailed her grieving process, explaining to former costar Amy Poehler that she’s taking it day by day.
“Overall, I’m here and I’m functioning,” Plaza shared during the Aug. 19 episode of Poehler’s Good Hang podcast. “I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m okay, but it’s a daily struggle, obviously.”
Plaza went on to note she made a realization when watching the 2025 film, The Gorge.
“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,” she said of the movie starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, “and it’s filled with all these like monster people that are trying to get them.”
“I swear when I watched it,” Plaza explained, “I was like, that feels like what my grief is like—or what grief could be like—where at all times there’s like a giant ocean of awfulness, that’s 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.”
Following Baena’s death in January, Plaza—whose film Honey Don’t! debuts in theaters Friday, Aug. 22—spoke out for the first time to honor her frequent collaborator and husband of five years after his passing, noting it was “an unimaginable tragedy.”
“We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support,” a family statement obtained by E! News Jan. 6 read. “Please respect our privacy during this time.”
In the months that followed, several friends and loved ones have continued to honor Baena’s memory, including, most recently, Disney alum Debby Ryan, who shared a heartbreaking tribute reflecting on the bond she had with her mentor.
“I’ve discovered the stages of grief aren’t linear; they’re like space stations I’ve docked at, in between periods of floating,” Ryan wrote in a June Instagram post. “My hope is they eventually feel more like satellites—always orbiting, often in view, but not a place to live.”
“Six months of trying to accept the new impossibility of the things we were gonna make together,” she added. “Months of discoveries of the things he left behind; and the gifts he continues to give me and those who he shone his light on. Thanks for all of it, Jeff.”
Keep reading for a look back at Baena and Plaza’s relationship over the years…
2011: Start Dating
While Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena didn’t share much insight into the early days of their romance, they started dating in 2011 after meeting during a game of Balderdash.
But one thing the Parks & Recreation star divulged is that from the start, they bonded over movies.
“We’re so obsessed with movies,” she told Page Six in 2017. “That’s why we’re making movies together.”
2014: Collaborate on Life After Beth
It wasn’t until three years into their relationship that they made their first movie together, Life After Beth, which marked Jeff’s directorial debut.
2019: A Rare Romance Update
While she and Jeff generally kept their romance out of the public eye, Aubrey admitted that having a partner in the entertainment industry has some benefits.
“I think that when you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level,” she told People in June 2019. “So obviously you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we’re both on.”
But that’s not to say it doesn’t take its own work.
“So I think that can be really great,” the Child’s Play alum noted. “But, you know, working with your partner can always be challenging. There’s a lot of things we do separately and I think that it’s all about balance.”
2021:Aubrey Confirms Marriage
After a decade together, Aubrey confirmed she and Jeff had tied the knot while giving him a rare shoutout on social media—and teasing their fourth movie together, Spin Me Round.
“So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble,” she wrote that May. “excited to be reunited with the amazing @alisonbrie (who also co-wrote this one!) and @theofficialsuperstar @sordociego @lauren_weedman and so many more fun people in this. Preparati!!”
2022: Jeff Shares Insight Why He and Aubrey Work So Well Together
After making several movies with his wife, Jeff made it clear that he’s not just her husband or director, he’s her No. 1 fan.
“She’s awesome,” he explained on the Reel Talker podcast in 2022. “I’d be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is my wife,” Baena told Reel Talker in 2022. “The opportunity to do something creative where we’re both fulfilled. How rare is that?”
2022: Their Final Film Together
Three years before Jeff’s sudden death at age 47, he and Aubrey worked on their fourth and final film together, Spin Me Round. During their 14 years together, they also made The Little Hours and she appeared in his 2016 film Joshy.
2024: Quiet Separation
Jeff and Aubrey were experiencing “marital difficulties” in the months before his passing, according to a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s report released in March 2025. In the report, obtained by E! News, police said Aubrey confirmed that the two separated in September 2024 when she moved to New York.
However, Aubrey told investigators she and Jeff remained in contact after the split, according to the report. Officials said the pair spoke on the phone the night before Jeff’s death, while Aubrey told police he sent her a text message three hours before he was found dead.
