It’s been one of the toughest years of Aubrey Plaza’s life. The actress, known for her deadpan humor and iconic role in Parks and Recreation, has opened up about the heartbreaking reality of losing her husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena, who died by suicide in January 2025 at just 47 years old.
Aubrey Plaza Gets Candid About Life After Jeff Baena’s Death: “It’s a Daily Struggle”
Plaza spoke with her longtime friend Amy Poehler on the podcast Good Hang and didn’t hold back when describing what grief really feels like. “It’s like a gorge—this massive chasm filled with monsters. It’s always there, always near, and you can see it,” she shared. “That’s what grief feels like.”
For Plaza, it’s not something that goes away or fades with time. Instead, it’s a constant presence she has to face every single day. “I’m present. I’m grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m okay, but it’s a daily struggle, obviously,” she admitted. Her words cut through the usual polished celebrity soundbites and hit on something raw, real, and deeply human.
@haggieplazaa poor baby has been through so much 💔 #aubreyplaza #fyp #parksandrec #amypoehler #goodhang
A Love Story Marked by Both Collaboration and Loss
Plaza and Baena’s relationship started back in 2011, and from the outside, it always seemed like a perfect match. Not only were they partners in love, but they were also creative collaborators. Together, they worked on several films including Life After Beth, The Little Hours, and Spin Me Round. They tied the knot in 2021, making official what fans already knew: they were in it for the long haul.
But like many relationships, theirs went through changes. By September 2024, Plaza had moved to New York, and the couple quietly separated. Even then, they kept in contact. Just months later, tragedy struck when Baena was found dead in his Los Angeles home. The coroner confirmed suicide by hanging, a loss that shocked the Hollywood community and left Plaza devastated.
At the time, she and Baena’s family released a short but emotional statement, calling the moment an “unimaginable tragedy” and asking for privacy as they processed the loss.
What makes Plaza’s recent words so powerful is the honesty behind them. She’s not sugarcoating her pain or trying to put on a strong front for the cameras. Instead, she’s opening up about what it actually feels like to carry grief around every day. The metaphor of a gorge filled with monsters resonates because it captures the mix of fear, emptiness, and heaviness that so many people experience after losing someone they love.
For fans, hearing Plaza speak this way offers a reminder that grief doesn’t have a neat timeline. It’s not something you “get over.” It lingers, it changes shape, and sometimes it hits you when you least expect it.
Still, there’s also strength in Plaza’s words. Even as she describes the darkness, she acknowledges gratitude—for being present, for being able to move through the world, and for the people who surround her. That kind of honesty not only makes her more relatable, but it also creates space for conversations around mental health and the realities of loss.
