AUBREY PLAZA HIT WITH VILE BACKLASH OVER PREGNANCY A YEAR AFTER HUSBAND’S DEATH
Actress Aubrey Plaza is expecting her first child in a ‘beautiful surprise’, having found love again after the death of her husband – but some people aren’t seeing it that way.
The White Lotus star, 41, and new partner Chris Abbott, 40, have not publicly announced anything, but a source revealed their baby is due this autumn.
‘It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,’ the insider told People, adding, ‘they feel very blessed’.
It’s been just over a year since Aubrey’s husband, Jeff Baena, died aged 47 and was found at home near the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.
He died by suicide on January 3, 2025, and was reportedly estranged from the Parks and Recreation icon at the time.
Now, some people online are judging Plaza for moving on with Abbott so quickly after Baena’s death.
One viral post bluntly calculated the months between Baena’s death in January and the reported pregnancy, concluding that ‘she didn’t even wait 6 months before getting a new partner,’ framing her personal life as evidence of ‘what modern relationships are like.’
Another user went further, suggesting that her grief ‘lasted for a week’ and invoking a gendered double standard: ‘Men would grieve for YEARS.’
But alongside the moralising came a wave of pushback as others questioned the premise that grief should follow a fixed timeline, with one user asking pointedly: ‘What was she supposed to do? Be sad and miserable for life?’
Another defended Plaza’s right to move forward on her own timeline, noting simply that ‘some people have different ways of grieving and moving on.’
Baena and Plaza had been together for over a decade at the time of his death, having tied the knot in 2021, with Aubrey deleting social media during her grieving.
In a statement, at the time, she and her family said: ‘This is an unimaginable tragedy.
‘We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.’
It was not until August last year that Aubrey first spoke out about the death in an interview on longtime friend Amy Poehler’s podcast.
She described grief as ‘giant ocean of awfulness’, admitting sometimes she just ‘wants to dive in’.
‘Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But, it’s always there.’
It was reported months after his death that Baena had made concerning remarks to his estranged wife, prompting a friend to perform a wellness check.
The examiner said Aubrey ‘last knew her husband to be alive when he sent her a text message’ on the morning of the day he died.
According to the reports, he had been in therapy and was known to have difficulty sleeping but had no prior attempts on his life.
The pair had got married after being ‘bored’ one night during Covid while celebrating their 10th anniversary, so organised a small ceremony in the garden.
Baena worked with Aubrey on 2014 horror film Life After Beth and 2017 historical comedy The Little Hours.
Who is her partner Chris Abbott?
Chris Abbott is an American actor, best known for his appearances in cult sitcom Girls as well as 2023’s hit movie Poor Things alongside Emma Stone.
Aubrey and Chris have worked together over the years in various productions, but don’t often speak publicly about their romance.
They starred together in an Off-Broadway revival of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and the 2020 film Black Bear.
Chris has starred in films such as Kraven the Hunter, Wolf Man and most recently, the Amanda Seyfried film, The Testament of Ann Lee.
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2026-04-08T07:10:29Z