Aubrey Plaza’s filmmaker husband Jeff Baena was found dead at age 47 in their Los Angeles home on Friday.
Baena’s body was discovered at the couple’s property in Los Feliz on Friday, the Los Angeles Fire Department told the DailyMail.com. TMZ reported that law enforcement sources said the filmmaker died by suicide, but DailyMail.com has not been able to confirm this.
While the White Lotus star, 40, was notoriously private when it came to her romance with the writer and director, they did share some insight into their love story on a few occasions.
The couple, who first started dating in 2011, worked together on numerous films, and Aubrey once explained that being in the same ‘field’ really strengthened their relationship.
She added, however, that sharing a job with your partner could be ‘challenging’ if not done correctly, and credited her husband with creating a ‘safe space’ and not getting swept up in ‘power dynamics.’
The low-key couple made headlines back in 2021, after Aubrey revealed that she and the filmmaker had secretly tied the knot during a spur of the moment backyard ceremony.
The wedding was thrown together after she jokingly suggested they wed on their 10-year anniversary, and saw them exchange vows in homemade tie-dye pajamas in front of their ‘real-life witch’ neighbor.
Amid the news that Aubrey Plaza’s filmmaker husband Jeff Baena has passed away at age 47, take a look back at their 14-year relationship. The couple is seen in 2016
Aubrey, who has previously come out as bisexual, later revealed that Jeff received death threats from the LGBTQ+ community over their marriage.
She was also honest about how her relationship endured its fair share of ‘rough patches,’ and revealed that she struggled with ‘comparing herself’ to ‘other couples that seems perfect.’
But despite the hardships, they prevailed, and by 2022, Aubrey admitted that they were thinking of starting a family together.
She revealed at the time that she considered having a baby during the COVID-19 pandemic, but ultimately decided not to become of the ‘apocalyptic state of the world.’
From their secret wedding and Aubrey’s admission about why they decided not to have a baby to their ‘rough patches’ and the ‘death threats’ he faced, here’s everything we know about their marriage.
Working together on numerous projects: Aubrey said being in the same field helped them ‘understand’ each other ‘on a deeper level’
The pair first started dating some time in 2011, but the exact date that they got together and how they first met is not known. They’re seen in 2014
The pair first started dating some time in 2011, but the exact date that they got together and how they first met is not known.
Over the years, they worked on numerous projects together, including the 2014 flick Life After Beth, 2016’s Joshy, The Little Hours in 2017, and the 2022 comedy film Spin Me Round.
In 2019, Aubrey explained that being in the same ‘field’ helped them ‘understand’ each other ‘on a deeper level.’
‘I think that when you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level,’ the actress said to People magazine at the time.
‘So obviously, you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we’re both on.’
Aubrey noted that ‘working with your partner’ can be challenging, and explained that it’s important that they also have time apart from one another due to their jobs.
‘I think that can be really great. But, you know, working with your partner can always be challenging,’ she continued.
‘There’s a lot of things we do separately, and I think that it’s all about balance.
‘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.
‘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.’
Aubrey also explained on the Drew Barrymore show in 2021 that while it’s ‘so great’ to work with her husband, it’s ‘complicated.’
‘It has extreme highs and extreme complications,’ she said. ‘It’s a really hard thing to navigate but we’ve been together for 11 years. We just muscle our way through it.’
While speaking to Cosmopolitan in 2022, Aubrey said that having a ‘little competition’ has helped keep their romance ‘interesting and fiery.’
Over the years, they worked on numerous projects together, including the 2014 flick Life After Beth (seen), 2016’s Joshy, The Little Hours in 2017, and the 2022 comedy film Spin Me Round
Aubrey once said being in the same field helped them ‘understand’ each other ‘on a deeper level.’ They’re seen in 2014
‘But I think collaboration is key,’ she added. ‘You have to create a really safe space to work together, because you’re the one person that can really offend your partner and you’re the one person that they want approval from the most, and then you’re also the one person that could, like, take them down so hard-core.
‘There are weird power dynamics too when one person’s a director and one person’s an actor.
‘There are all these unspoken rules. I don’t know. I don’t want to compete with my partner. I want to compete with everyone else.’
Jeff has gushed about working with Aubrey, telling Reel Talker in 2022, ‘She’s awesome. I’d be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is my wife.
‘The opportunity to do something creative [together] where we’re both fulfilled – how rare is that?’
Their spur of the moment wedding: The couple secretly tied the knot in their backyard while wearing matching pajamas
Aubrey subtly announced that they had secretly tied the knot while promoting their film Spin Me Round in May 2021. They’re seen together in 2014
Aubrey subtly announced that they had secretly tied the knot while promoting their film Spin Me Round in May 2021.
At the time, she praised the movie on her Instagram – and referred to Jeff as her ‘husband’ in the post.
‘So proud of my darling husband for dreaming up another film that takes us to Italia to cause some more trouble,’ she wrote.
Months later, she shared details about their private nuptials on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and she explained that they tied the knot during the COVID-19 lockdown with a very low-key backyard wedding after they ‘got a little bored one night.’
She later revealed that the wedding was thrown together after she jokingly suggested they wed on their 10-year anniversary. They’re seen together in 2014
‘We got a little bored one night. So we got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up,’ she said.
‘We were in the lockdown. Things got a little crazy, especially in my house.’
Aubrey explained that she wanted to ‘do something’ to celebrate their 10-year anniversary, and ‘joked’ that they should ‘get married.’
But Jeff liked the idea, and they quickly threw together a ceremony that was held in the lawn outside their house.
She said she found someone to officiate it on the website Onehourmarriage.com and made her own ‘love altar.’
‘My now-husband went and picked up food from some restaurant because we had already ordered food,’ she shared.
‘He almost missed the wedding because he had to wait so long for the order.
‘I created a very quick love altar in our yard. Facts of our love, little stones, smoke, fire. Things of that nature.
‘Then the [officiant] from Alhambra showed up in a Hawaiian shirt with a briefcase. I can’t remember a lot of it, it was fuzzy. But I’m pretty sure it was legal.’
She also described the ceremony as ‘witchy,’ explaining that she asked her ‘real-life witch’ neighbor to give them her blessing.
‘She went in her house, rummaged around. [Then] came out with a rosemary wreath that she gave me. She literally cackled,’ revealed the star.
They both dressed in tie-dye pajamas that Jeff had made, and she completed her look with a crown.
Overcoming public backlash: Jeff got ‘death threats’ over the marriage, and Aubrey admitted that they sometimes went through ‘rough patches’
After she spoke out about the wedding, Aubrey, who had previously come out as bisexual, said people in the LGBTQ+ community sent Jeff ‘death threats.’ They’re seen in 2016
After she spoke out about the wedding, Aubrey, who had previously come out as bisexual, told Cosmopolitan that people in the LGBTQ+ community sent Jeff ‘death threats.’
‘Jeff got death threats in his DMs,’ she said. ‘People project so much stuff onto marriage, but it wasn’t some big statement I’m trying to make where I want everybody to react to it.’
In 2022, Aubrey admitted to GQ that she considered ‘having a baby during the pandemic,’ but ultimately decided not to because of the ‘apocalyptic state of the world.’
She told the publication that she ‘always wanted’ kids.
But she was also honest about how her relationship had its fair share of ‘rough patches.’
While reflecting on how she related to her White Lotus character Harper, she told the outlet, ‘I’ve been with my husband for 12 years. 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.’
Jeff’s shock passing at age 47: The filmmaker was found dead by an assistant on Friday in his LA home
Jeff was found dead by an assistant on Friday in his LA home around 10:30am, DailyMail.com confirmed. He was pronounced dead at the scene. They’re seen together in 2017
Jeff’s body was discovered by an assistant on Friday in his and Aubrey’s Los Feliz home, which they purchased in 2022.
Officers responded to the home at 10:25 am, the Los Angeles Fire Department told the DailyMail.com.
‘Death was determined for an approximately 47-year old male, no transport,’ they said in a statement.
The Life After Beth director was pronounced dead at the scene.
The family told Deadline that they are devastated by the news and are asking for privacy at this time.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Aubrey and Jeff’s representatives and to the police for comment.
Aubrey has not publicly commented on the death of her husband.
He is survived by his wife, his mother Barbra Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, his stepmother Michele Baena, his brother Brad Baena, and his step siblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.
Aubrey was scheduled to present an award at the Golden Globes on Sunday, January 5.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk