Aubrey Plaza, 41, announced her first baby with her partner, Christopher Abbott, 40, a little over a year after her husband’s demise.
Plaza’s ex-spouse, Jeff Baena, took his own life on January 3, 2025, at his Los Angeles home. He was 47 at the time.
After Plaza’s pregnancy was revealed, Jeff’s brother, Brad Baena, allegedly chastised his former sister-in-law on social media.
Highlights
- Aubrey Plaza is expecting her first child with partner and former co-star Christopher Abbott, a year after her husband, Jeff Baena, passed away.
- Jeff’s brother, Brad Baena, allegedly criticized Plaza’s pregnancy on social media and shared posts that hinted at disapproval.
- Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza were separated for months before he took his life.
“Guess she moved on fast enough,” one person wrote about the situation.
Aubrey Plaza’s ex-husband’s brother allegedly condemned her pregnancy news
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On April 7, 2026, a source told People Magazine that Aubrey Plaza is pregnant with Chris Abbott, and the baby is due in the fall.
“It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,” the source said, adding that the couple “feel very blessed.”
A representative for Plaza confirmed the news to the outlet.
Image credits: Brad Baena/Facebook
Plaza and Abbotth worked together on the 2020 psychological drama Black Bear and the Off-Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.
Plaza was later spotted and photographed walking her dog in New York City, showing off her baby bump in a purple polo t-shirt, grey sweatpants, a blue jacket, sneakers, and black sunglasses.
Hours after the news was revealed, an X user named Storm shared a screenshot, claiming it was Brad Baena's reaction to Plaza’s pregnancy news.
Image credits: Brad Baena/Facebook
The screenshot featured a USA Today report of Plaza’s pregnancy. The text on it said, “Once a cheater, always a cheater,” followed by, “Instant Karma.”
A Facebook account belonging to one Brad Baena, which has 548 friends, shared more posts with such sentiments.
One post said, “People know exactly what they’re doing. End of story.” It had the word “Karma” added to it at the bottom.
Image credits: Brad Baena/Facebook
“Above all, be a good person in this life, because no amount of money, titles, or status can hide who a person truly is,” read another.
Plaza currently follows Brad’s official Instagram account, which has 841 followers and currently has no posts or stories of a similar nature.
Netizens had mixed reactions to Brad’s posts.
“How is her being happy and pregnant 'karma'?” one person wrote. “They were separated. People grieve differently.” Another wrote, “Moved on faster than the speed of light.”
Brad Baena’s alleged posts also sparked some comments about Plaza “cheating” on Jeff.
“She’s probably cheated on her ex-spouse before, that’s why he’s saying that,” one comment said.
“Cheated on, depressed, su*cide, then the widow has kids with the lover — horrific,” another wrote.
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena were separated before he took his life
Image credits: Joe Mabel/Wikimedia
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena started dating in 2011 and worked together for years across multiple projects, but kept their relationship a secret from the public.
In May 2021, Plaza called Jeff her “darling husband” in an Instagram post and later revealed that they had married in a small ceremony during the 2020 quarantine period.
The pair was separated for four months before Jeff ended his life, according to a report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office, obtained by People Magazine.
Image credits: plazadeaubrey/Instagram
The report said that they split in September 2024 after “experiencing recent marital difficulties.” A month later, Jeff made “concerning remarks” to Plaza, which “prompted her to call a friend to perform a welfare check on her husband.”
Jeff started going to therapy following the welfare check.
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He reportedly spoke with Plaza on the phone the night before the incident, and sent her a text message at 10:26 a.m. ET on the day of his demise, around three hours before his dog walker found his body.
The dog walker told the investigators that she entered the residence after hearing loud music from the house, which she found “unusual.”
Jeff Baena’s brother Brad was “broken” after his passing
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After Jeff’s demise, his brother Brad commented on an Instagram tribute by Adam Pally, actor, comedian, and the writer-director’s past collaborator.
“I am broken,” Brad wrote under the post in which Pally sent his condolences to Plaza and the Baena family.
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Jeff was survived by his brother Brad, his mother, Barbra Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, stepmother Michele Baena, and two step-siblings, Bianca Gabay and Jed Flauxman.
Plaza and the Baena-Stern family released a collective statement two days after Jeff’s demise.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” the statement read. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Image credits: TheStewartofNY/Getty Images
Plaza later broke her silence on the tragedy on Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast. In the interview, she called her grief a “giant ocean of awfulness” and compared it to a scene from Scott Derrickson’s 2025 horror film, The Gorge, starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy.
“In the movie, there's a cliff on one side and a cliff on the other side, then there's like a gorge in between, and it's filled with all these monster people that are trying to get them,” Plaza said. “I swear, when I watched it, I was like, that feels like what my grief is like.”
"How is her being happy, karma?" Social media reacted to Jeff Baena's brother's alleged reaction to Aubrey Plaza's pregnancy
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