Aubrey Plaza is ‘functioning,’ but it’s a ‘daily struggle’ after her husband’s death

Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza are pictured in 2016. Aubrey Plaza is opening up about her life after the death of her husband, Jeff Baena. (David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Aubrey Plaza is opening up about her life after the death of her husband, Jeff Baena.

The “White Lotus” star is a guest on the latest episode of her friend and former “Parks and Recreation” co-star Amy Poehler’s podcast, “Good Hang.”

Baena, a writer and director, died by suicide in January. He was 47.

“On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?” Poehler asked Plaza.

“In this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you,” Plaza responded.

“I’m here and I’m functioning,” she continued. “I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m okay, but it’s like a daily struggle, obviously.”

Baena was well known in Hollywood for several projects, including co-writing the 2004 film, “I Heart Huckabees.”

He and Plaza worked together on the 2014 horror-comedy, “Life After Beth,” the 2021 comedy series, “Cinema Toast,” and the 2022 film, “Spin Me Round.”

On the podcast, Plaza compared her grief to the recent film “The Gorge,” which stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, among others.

“It’s like [an] alien movie or something with Miles Teller,” Plaza said. “In the movie, there’s like a cliff on one side and there’s a cliff on the other side, then there’s gorge in between and it’s filled with all these like monster people that are trying to get them.”

“I swear when I watched it, I was like that feels like what my grief is like,” she added.

Her grief, Plaza explained, feels like “a giant ocean of awfulness, that’s like right there and I can see it.”

“Sometimes I just want to dive into it and just like be in it,” she said. “Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But, it’s always there.”

Plaza and Baena began dating in 2011 and she revealed in 2021 on social media that they had married.

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

If you or someone you know is in crisis or struggling with mental illness, here are some resources that are available.

Canada Suicide Crisis Helpline (Call or text 988)

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (1-800-463-2338)

Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566 or text 45645)

Kids Help Phone [phone])

If you need immediate assistance call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.