Aubrey Plaza Opens Up About Grief Following Husband Jeff Baena’s Death: ‘It’s a Daily Struggle’

Aubrey Plaza is getting candid about her grief following husband Jeff Baena’s death earlier this year.

Plaza, 41, joined friend and former Parks and Recreation costar Amy Poehler on the Tuesday, August 19, episode of Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast. Early on in the episode, Poehler noted that Plaza brought her dog, Frankie, with her to the podcast recording, describing her as a “therapy dog” for Plaza, especially given the events of the last year.

“To get it out of the way, people wanna see you and see how you are,” Poehler, 53, said, referring to Baena’s death by suicide on January 3. “They love you, and they wanna see you. You had this terrible, terrible, tragic year. You lost your husband. You’ve been dealing with that, and you’ve been looking for all different ways in which to feel and find support.”

Poheler asked Plaza, “On behalf of all of the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?”

The Agatha All Along actress said that, “in this very, very moment,” she was “happy” to be with her longtime pal, but she described the waves of grief she has experienced since January.

“Overall, I’m here, and I’m functioning, and I feel grateful to be moving through the world. I think, like, I’m OK, but it’s a daily struggle, obviously,” Plaza said.

Plaza went on to liken her grief to the recent action-horror film The Gorge, starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy.

“This is kind of a dumb analogy, and it was kind of a joke at a certain point, but, like, I actually mean it,” she explained. “Did you see that movie The Gorge? It’s like an alien movie or something with Miles Teller. 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.”

Plaza continued, “I swear, when I watched it, I was like, that feels like what my grief is like. … Where it’s like, at all times, there’s like a giant ocean of awfulness that’s, like, right there, and I can see it, and sometimes I just wanna dive into it and be in it. And then, sometimes, I just look at it, and sometimes I just try to get away from it.”

“But it’s always there and the monster people are trying to get me like Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy,” she added.

Baena died by suicide at his home in Los Angeles in early January, per medical examiner records viewed by Us Weekly. He was 47.

Plaza broke her silence in a January 6 statement through her representative. “This is an unimaginable tragedy,” the actress’ spokesperson said. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Plaza and Baena, a film director, started dating in 2011 and tied the knot in 2020.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.