Aubrey Plaza Makes 1st Public Appearance Following Husband’s Death

Aubrey Plaza made her first public appearance since the untimely death of her husband, Jeff Baena.

Plaza, 40, appeared during Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special on Sunday, February 16, introducing singers Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard.

Plaza’s appearance was brief but marked her first time in front of the camera since her husband passed away at the age of 47.

News broke on January 4 that the late filmmaker died in the couple’s home. According to medical examiner records reviewed by Us Weekly, Baena’s official cause of death was suicide.

Two days later, on January 6, Plaza broke her silence.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” a rep said in a statement on behalf of the actress and her family to Us. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Baena and Plaza first started dating in 2011 and officially tied the knot in 2020 after a decade together. The pair kept their relationship largely private, but Plaza opened up about her and Baena’s nuptials during a December 2021 appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show.

“A lot of things happened during COVID for me. Yes, we got married. Big deal,” Plaza recalled at the time. “We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”

At the time, the Parks and Rec star shared that she and her husband had decided to walk down the proverbial wedding aisle while on lockdown.

“I created a very quick love altar in our yard. Facts of our love, little stones, smoke, fire. Things of that nature,” she continued. “Then the man from Alhambra showed up in a Hawaiian shirt with a briefcase [to perform the ceremony]. … I can’t remember a lot of it, it was fuzzy. But I’m pretty sure it’s legal.”

One week after her husband’s passing, Plaza deleted her Instagram account, which was flooded with condolences and well-wishes from friends and fans alike.

Director Alex Ross Perry took to social media to remember his special bond with the late director.

“I’ve struggled for days on how to summarize my friendship with Jeff Baena into just a few paragraphs. I could write more. I should,” Perry, 40, wrote via Instagram on January 8. “But Jeff wouldn’t write that much: he’d want a concise outline with the basic idea, and then to riff and expand upon it in the moment later.”

He added, “But there is no later, and that is impossible to believe. There will be no ‘Next time I stay at Jeff and Aubrey’s house,’ which I did countless times. If you’ve seen me in L.A. in the last 10 years, it is probably because Jeff gave me a place to stay. He fed me. He made amazing smoothies. Ordered delivery from places he knew I liked but wouldn’t have time to go to.”

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