During an appearance on her longtime friend Amy Poehler's podcast Good Hang, Aubrey Plaza shared candid thoughts about navigating life after the death of her husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena, by suicide earlier this year.
Baena, a writer and director, died on January 3, 2025, at the age of 47. Plaza, 41, admitted that she is grateful to be "functioning," coping with the loss remains a "daily struggle."
"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," Plaza told Poehler in the episode released on August 19.
Poehler, who starred alongside Plaza in Parks and Recreation, acknowledged the difficult year her friend has endured. She also noted that Plaza's dog Frankie has become an important source of comfort, acting as a "therapy dog."
Plaza went on to describe grief using a metaphor from the 2025 film The Gorge. "At all times there's like a giant ocean of awfulness sometimes I just want to dive into it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But it's always there," she explained.
Plaza and Baena had been together since 2011 and quietly married in 2021. Following his passing, Plaza and Baena's family released a joint statement describing his death as an "unimaginable tragedy" and asking for privacy.
Plaza's latest film Honey Don't! is set to hit theatres on August 22, marking her first major release since her husband's death.
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