Jeff Baena texted Aubrey Plaza three hours before his death amid reported separation, made ‘concerning remarks’ | Hollywood News
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena reportedly parted ways four months before the filmmaker’s death, according to a new report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The couple reportedly separated in September 2024, and it was after this that Plaza moved to New York. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Baena had started therapy in the weeks leading up to his tragic death. The report also claims that he previously made “concerning remarks” to Plaza, prompting her to ask a friend to “perform a welfare check on him.”
As per the medical report, the Parks and Recreation star got a text from her late husband on the morning of his death, at around 10:36 am. Later that day, Baena’s dog walker found his body in an unresponsive state. She called 911 following which, the writer-director was pronounced dead. She told investigators that she heard loud music coming from the house, which she felt was “very unusual.” The Life After Beth director died suicide on January 3. According to the coroner’s office, there was no foul play involved.
At the time, Plaza was scheduled to attend the Golden Globes but she skipped the event after the devastating news. After a month, she made her first public appearance since Baena’s passing when she attended Saturday Night Live’s 50th Anniversary Special. Plaza wore a tie-dye shirt for the occasion—a quiet tribute to her late husband.
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Plaza and Baena met in 2011. After nearly a decade of dating, they quietly tied the knot during the COVID-19 lockdown. Fans only learned about their marriage when Plaza referred to Baena as her “darling husband” in one of her social media posts.
“I think that one of the great things about our careers is that we are forced to be independent, take little breaks, go off and do our things and come back,” Plaza said in a 2019 interview with PEOPLE. Speaking about the nature of their relationship, she shared, “So it’s kind of fun. Nothing is ever the same. You don’t want to spend too much time apart. But I think that there’s a way that it can work and there’s a balance in that.” Baena and Plaza worked on several projects together, including the 2014 dark comedy Life After Beth and the 2022 romantic comedy Spin Me Round.
Following his passing, Baena’s family called his death an “unimaginable tragedy.” “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time,” they shared in a statement with PEOPLE.
