‘It’s a daily struggle’: What happened to Aubrey Plaza’s husband as she talks about grief on podcast?

Actress Aubrey Plaza, who is best known for her role in The White Lotus, is starring in the latest episode on her friend Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast. Aubrey and Amy starred together on Parks and Recreation between 2009 and 2015.

In the latest episode on the podcast, Amy Poheler puts this question to Aubrey which is "On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?,” and in response, Aubrey said: "Right in this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you."

Aubrey went on to say that "Overall, I'm here and I'm functioning. I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I'm okay, but it's like a daily struggle, obviously.”

The pair discuss grief and compare it to a movie starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy called The Gorge. Aubrey Plaza says that “This is a really dumb analogy and it was kind of a joke at a certain point, but I actually mean it. Did you see that movie The Gorge?"

"It's like [an] alien movie or something with Miles Teller. In the movie, there's like a cliff on one side and there's a cliff on the other side, then there's a gorge in between and it's filled with all these like monster people that are trying to get to them.”

Aubrey then goes on to say that "I swear when I watched it, I was like that feels like what my grief is like … or what grief could be like."

"At all times there's like a giant ocean of awfulness, that's like 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”

Amy and Aubrey also discuss Aubrey’s dog Frankie and how he has been acting as a “therapy dog,” and Amy says to Aubrey that "You've 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.”

What happened to Aubrey Plaza’s husband?

Aubrey Plaza’s husband writer and director Jeff Baena died by suicide on January 3, 2025, he was 47. The couple started dating in 2011 and married in 2021.

After Jeff Baena died, his family and Aubrey released a statement which read: "This is an unimaginable tragedy.” The statement also read: "We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time."

Jeff Baena will be best remembered for writing Alison Brie-starring 2020 thriller Horse Girl, which he also directed, and 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees, which included a cast of Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman and Mark Wahlberg.

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