Aubrey Plaza Opens Up About Grief Over Husband’s Death

August 19, 2025 (Los Angeles) - In her first public comments since losing her husband, director Jeff Baena, actress Aubrey Plaza shared her struggle with grief. She spoke about this on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast. Plaza, 41, compared her experience to a “giant ocean of awfulness.” She’s “grateful to be moving through the world,” but finds coping to be “a daily struggle.”

Plaza says grief is always there. She compares it to the horror film *The Gorge*: “There’s a cliff on one side and a cliff on the other, with a gorge in between filled with monster people trying to get you.” It’s like that ocean of awfulness - sometimes I want to dive into it, and other times I try to get away, but it’s always there.”

Baena, 47, died by suicide on January 3 at the couple’s Los Feliz home. The pair had been married since 2021 after more than a decade together. After his death, Plaza and Baena’s family shared a statement. They called the loss “an unimaginable tragedy” and requested privacy while they mourn.

Plaza’s honest reflection is her first big interview since leaving public life. Promoting her new dark comedy, *Honey Don’t!* directed by Ethan Coen, she thanked her supporters. She highlighted the need to find joy: “Some people and things make me laugh and remind me why I keep going.”