Seven months after the death of Aubrey Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, the White Lotus star is breaking her silence. In January 2025, Jeff died by suicide, and when Aubrey appeared on her Parks & Rec costar Amy Poehler‘s podcast this week, she opened up about how she’s coping with her grief on a day to day basis.
When the new episode of Good Hang dropped on Tuesday, Aubrey was Amy’s latest guest, and Amy didn’t shy away from asking her how she was really doing when it came to coping with the loss of her husband.
“Right in this very very present moment, I feel happy to be with you,” Aubrey said. “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.”
In January, TMZ was the first to report that Jeff, a filmmaker, was found dead by his assistant at a Los Angeles area home. He was 47.
He and Aubrey quietly got married in 2021 after they’d been together for a decade, though the outlet later reported that the two had been separated since September 2024.
She went on to compare her experience with grief to the sci-fi movie The Gorge, which stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy and is about a mysterious gorge that makes itself known in horrifying ways.
“At all times there’s like a giant ocean of awfulness, that’s like right there and I can see it,” Aubrey said. “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.”
As she copes with such a traumatic and unexpected loss, Aubrey said she’s been relying on her friends to help her through — and to make her laugh along the way.
“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,” she said. “We’ve all known each other for so long. That’s the best thing that makes me laugh. My funny friends.”
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
