Aubrey Plaza has opened up about her “daily struggle” since the death of her husband Jeff Baena for the first time, comparing her grief to the plot of a 2025 science-fiction horror film.
The White Lotus star, who had been in a relationship with the director since 2011, has been in mourning ever since he died, aged 47, in January 2025. His death was determined to be suicide several months later and no foul play was suspected.
Plaza, 41, reflected on the last seven months since Baena’s death in a new interview with her Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler, likening her grief to “a giant ocean of awfulness” depicted in 2025 film The Gorge.
“Right in this very present moment, I feel happy to be with you,” Plaza said on Poehler’s Good Hang podcast. “Overall, I’m here and I’m functioning and really grateful to be moving through the world. I’m OK but, you know, it’s like a daily struggle, obviously.”
Plaza then compared her grief to the plot of The Gorge, a 2025 science-fiction horror film following two elite snipers who are ordered to guard a deep gorge without knowing what lies inside.
“This is a really dumb analogy – it was a joke at a certain point but I kind of mean it – have you seen the film The Gorge? It’s like an alien movie with Miles Teller.
“In the movie, there’s a cliff on one side and a cliff on the other side and a gorge in between, which is filled with other people who are trying to get there.”
Plaza said that, when she watched the film, which was released on Apple TV+ in February, she thought: “That’s what my grief is like.”
“There’s like a giant ocean of awfulness that’s right there and I see it and at some point, I just want to dive into it and be in it,” she said.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
“Sometimes I look at it. Sometimes I wanna get away from it. But it’s just always there and the monster people are trying to get me.”
Baena and Plaza began dating in 2011 and married 10 years later.
In a statement shared with The Independent at the time of Baena’s death, Plaza said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Baena achieved recognition when he co-wrote the 2004 film I Heart Huckabees with director David O’Russell, receiving a Gotham Award nomination for Best Feature.
Among his other credits were the films Life After Beth (2014), The Little Hours (2017) and the Netflix movie Horse Girl (2020).
Plaza starred in Baena’s horror-comedy film Life After Beth, which was nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize.
They worked together again on the medieval dark comedy The Little Hours, starring husband-and-wife Alison Brie and Dave Franco.
During the 2025 Golden Globes, which were held on 5 January, two days after Baena’s death, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet shared his condolences with Plaza and Baena’s family while accepting the award for Best Director – Motion Picture.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
