Before her relationship with Christopher Abbott, Aubrey Plaza was married to Jeff Baena in 2021. The duo split months before Baena's death in 2025.
American actress, Aubrey Plaza, gained recognition with the political satire sitcom, Parks and Recreation. The actress is currently leading the headlines after it was reported that she was pregnant with her partner and fellow actor, Christopher Abbott. As per reports, Aubrey, who lost her husband, Jeff Baena, in 2025, felt ‘blessed’ with the news following a challenging emotional year. As the news of Aubrey’s pregnancy makes headlines, the focus shifts to her ex-husband, Jeff Baena.
Baena was best known for films such as The Little Hours, Life After Beth and Joshy. Born in June 1977 in Miami, Florida, Baena graduated from New York University with a degree in film before moving to Los Angeles to pursue directing. He worked in production under filmmakers, Robert Zemeckis and David O Russell.
In 2014, Baena made his directorial debut with the zombie comedy film, Life After Beth, which starred his girlfriend, Aubrey Plaza. The pair collaborated on several projects. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Baena developed Cinema Toast, a showtime-analogy series that marked Aubrey's directorial debut.
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena's collaboration began in 2011. According to a GQ report, the couple met during a game of Balderdash. She later became the lead actress of his directorial debut film. In an interview with Moviefreak.com, Aubrey spoke about working with Baena and shared that she had worked with him on his first film and had seen him evolve. She also stated that it is sometimes challenging but also rewarding to work together.
After being together for years, Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena tied the knot in 2021, without any fanfare. They kept their marriage a secret from their fans, and it was only revealed when Aubrey once addressed Baena as her 'darling husband' in an Instagram post. Her representative later confirmed the news of Aubrey’s wedding to Baena.
In an interview with Drew Barrymore, Aubrey spoke about her hush-hush wedding and revealed that they decided to get married at 5 pm and got married at 8 pm. They wore tie-dye pyjamas that he had made. She made a love altar in the backyard with all of their love objects and just got married in an intimate ceremony.
Three years into the marriage, they separated in silence in September 2024. While neither Plaza nor Baena publicly addressed their silent separation, a report by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner revealed that the couple had been ‘experiencing marital difficulties’ in 2024 before officially separating. After the separation, Plaza relocated to New York, while her estranged husband, Baena, stayed in Los Angeles. Even though they no longer lived together, Aubrey and Jeff deeply cared for each other and remained in contact.
On January 3, 2025, Jeff Baena unexpectedly passed away at the age of 47 by suicide, reportedly. On the morning of his death, Baena’s body was found by his dog walker, who arrived as scheduled. The dog walker reported hearing loud music coming from the house, which she described as “unusual,” and discovered the body upon entering the home, per the medical examiner's report.
Jeff Baena was in contact with his estranged wife, Aubrey Plaza, right to the end. Aubrey was concerned about her estranged husband’s mental well-being after their split. A month into their separation, in October 2024, Baena reportedly made some ‘concerning remarks’ to Aubrey, prompting her to contact a friend to check on him. Before his passing, Jeff Baena had begun therapy.
After the filmmaker’s body was discovered in his LA residence, Plaza had told the investigators that they had spoken the night before his death and that Baena even sent her a text message just three hours before he was found dead.
After Jeff Baena’s death in January 2025, Aubrey Plaza remained silent for eight months. However, in August 2025, the actress finally opened up to her friend and Parks and Recreation co-star, Amy Poehler, on the Good Hang podcast. In the podcast, Aubrey spoke about losing her partner of 14 years and compared her grief to the film, The Gorge. Elaborating on her grief, Aubrey shared:
“In the movie, there’s a cliff on one side and a cliff on the other side and there’s a gorge in between and it’s filled with all these monster people that are trying to get them. I swear when I watched it, I was like, ‘That what this feels like, what my grief is like – or what grief could be like.’”
Despite their separation, Aubry and Baena shared a great rapport, because of which his death was a ‘traumatising episode’ for her. A month after his death, in February 2025, the actress-comedian wore a tie-dye shirt at the SNL50: The Anniversary Special, in tribute to the tie-dye pyjamas they wore on their wedding day.
What do you think about Aubrey Plaza’s relationship with Jeff Baena?
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