Aubrey Plaza Opens up to ‘Parks and Rec’ Co-Star Amy Poehler Following Husband Jeff Baena’s Death

Aubrey Plaza is opening up about the “daily struggle” that is her grief after the death of husband Jeff Baena in January.

Speaking with her Parks and Recreation co-star, Amy Poehler, on her Good Hang podcast Tuesday, Plaza spoke candidly when asked how she was doing after Baena died by suicide at age 47 on Jan. 3.

As Poehler, 53, mentioned that Plaza’s dog had been acting as her “therapy dog,” the Saturday Night Live alum went on, “Just to get it out of the way, people want to see you and want to see how you are, they love you.”

“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,” she continued, adding, “On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?”

The White Lotus star noted that “right in this very, very present moment,” she felt “happy to be with” her friend, she acknowledged that there are tougher moments as well. “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,” Plaza explained.

The Agatha All Along star compared her grief to The Gorge, a 2025 action/horror film starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, in a “really dumb analogy” that Plaza said started off as “kind of a joke” before she realized she actually meant it.

“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 them,” she explained. “I swear when I watched it, I was like that feels like what my grief is like … or what grief could be like.”

Plaza continued, “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.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline​. The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available.