Aubrey Plaza Breaks Silence Following Death of Husband Jeff Baena: ‘Giant Ocean of Awfulness’

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Back in January, Aubrey Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, took his own life.

It was later revealed that Plaza and Baena had been separated for several months at the time of his passing.

Obviously, that’s an enormously difficult situation for anyone to endure, and constant scrutiny from the public likely didn’t make Aubrey’s grieving process any easier.

Writer/director Jeff Baena (L) and actress Aubrey Plaza pose for a portrait during Sundance NEXT FEST at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on August 8, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images for Sundance NEXT)

So it makes sense that she chose to step away from the spotlight for a while.

Now, Aubrey is opening up about her husband’s passing for the very first time.

Aubrey opens up to Amy Poehler about grief, healing

Appearing on Amy Poehler’s popular “Good Hang” podcast, Aubrey opened up to her former Parks and Recreation costar about the most difficult year of her life.

Actress Aubrey Plaza (L) and director Jeff Baena attend “The Little Hours” premiere during day 1 of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theater on January 19, 2017 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival)

“Right in this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you,” Aubrey said, according to Page Six. “Overall, I’m here and I’m functioning.”

“very grateful to be moving through the world” and felt “OK.”

From there, Plaza compared her grief to the 2024 film Gorge, in which Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller play a pair of snipers who guard a large chasm without knowing what’s inside.

“That’s what my grief feels like or what grief could be like. At all times, there’s, like, a giant ocean of just awfulness that’s just right there and I can see it,” Aubrey said, adding:

“Sometimes I just want to dive into it and be in it. And sometimes I look at it and sometimes I just try to get away from it, but it’s always there.”

Actors Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena arrives at Sundance NextFest Film Festival Premiere Of “Life After Beth” at The Theatre At The Ace Hotel on August 8, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

When Poehler asked how Plaza “deeply laugh[s]” and “stay[s] on the cliff and not in the gorge,” she replied:

“A group of my women friends … we have, like, a text chain and we do Zooms and trips and those girls make me laugh really, really hard.”

Aubrey made a brief appearance at SNL 50 back in February. She paid tribute to her late husband by wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt.

She and Baena wore tie-dye at their wedding in 2020.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Baena’s family wrote in a public statement shortly after his death. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Our thoughts go out to Aubrey and the rest of Jeff Baena’s loved ones as they continue to mourn his passing.

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