Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza. Mark Davis/Getty Images for Sundance NEXT
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena were together for over a decade ahead of his death in 2025.
The pair started dating in 2011 but never confirmed exactly when they met or when their love story began.
Plaza and the Horse Girl director have collaborated on films including Life After Beth and Joshy in 2016 and Spin Me Round in 2022.
“I think that when you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level,” Plaza told People in 2019.
Season 2 of The White Lotus is all about infidelity, but offscreen, many of the cast members are happily married. Aubrey Plaza, who plays Harper Spiller, revealed in May 2021 that she secretly tied the knot with Jeff Baena after a decade of dating before his death in 2025. The Parks and Recreation alum referred […]
Baena also expressed how lucky he is to work with his wife. “She’s awesome. I’d be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is my wife,” Baena told Reel Talker in 2022. “The opportunity to do something creative [together] where we’re both fulfilled — how rare is that?”
Before starting production on Spin Me Round, Plaza shared a celebratory Instagram post for Baena, praising his movie. She also subtly revealed that the two had tied the knot.
“So proud of my darling husband,” Plaza wrote in May 2021. “For dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble.”
Keep scrolling to see a complete timeline of Plaza and Baena’s relationship:
2011
Plaza and Baena have been linked since 2011, but it’s unknown when the twosome actually started dating.
Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza. Chad Hurst/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival
2014
Baena made his directorial debut with 2014’s Life After Beth, starring Plaza as the titular character.
2017
Plaza made her debut as a film producer alongside Baena on The Little Hours, in which she played a nun named Sister Fernanda.
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena. George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival
2020
Plaza’s dark humor inspired a unique Valentine’s Day Instagram post featuring her husband. The two posed for a photo, but Plaza held a dagger up to Baena’s face. “And happy valentine’s day,” she captioned the photo, adding a heart emoji.
2021
While celebrating Baena’s movie Spin Me Round in May, Plaza subtly announced that she and Baena had tied the knot. “So proud of my darling husband,” she wrote via Instagram.
She later shared the full story on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in December of that year.
Aubrey Plaza is funny and fashionable. The actress — who has made fans laugh since she first appeared on Parks and Recreation — also has a reputation of turning heads on the red carpet. Plaza’s style aesthetic can be categorized as classic as she leans on textures and silhouettes that are timeless and flattering — […]
“We got a little bored one night,” the Parks and Recreation alum recalled. “We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”
Plaza continued explaining how she had to negotiate in order to get the officiant to agree to drive to her home and perform the ceremony in their backyard. She included her neighbor — who she described as a real-life witch — to get her spiritual blessing.
“I created a very quick love altar in our yard. Facts of our love, little stones, smoke, fire. Things of that nature. Then the man from Alhambra showed up,” Plaza continued. “I can’t remember a lot of it, it was fuzzy. But I’m pretty sure it was legal.”
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena. Michael Tran/FilmMagic
2022
Spin Me Round premiered in the United States in August, starring Plaza alongside cowriter Alison Brie.
Several months later, Plaza opened up to GQ about her marriage with Baena, comparing her life to that of her character on The White Lotus, Harper.
“I’ve been with my husband for 12 years,” she said in November. “I relate to being in a relationship that has peaks and valleys, and going through a rough patch and comparing yourself to another couple that seems perfect.”
January 2025
News broke that Baena died by suicide at age 47.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Plaza’s rep told Us Weekly in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Two months later, the Los Angeles medical examiner revealed in its official report that Plaza and Baena had been separated since September 2024 amid marital struggles.
