How Aubrey Plaza found happiness again with partner Christopher Abbott after being left paralysed by a stroke and struggling daily with her husband’s suicide – as it’s revealed she’s expecting first child a year after his death

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Aubrey Plaza is feeling optimistic after a difficult year filled with personal challenges and sadness.

The 41-year-old actress, known for her role in The White Lotus, is starting a positive new phase in her life. This comes after a difficult period that included the loss of her husband, Jeff Baena, who tragically died by suicide, and her own health challenges.

She’s expecting her first child with her partner, Christopher Abbott, who is 40 years old. The news was announced this week.

‘It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,’ a source told People.

The actress is expecting a baby after a challenging time where she focused on rebuilding her personal life outside of the public eye.

Now that she’s optimistic about the future and expresses gratitude, let’s explore the challenging path she took to find happiness.

Twenty years ago, Aubrey experienced a health issue that almost stopped her career before she could even start it.

She was left briefly paralyzed during an unexplained stroke at 20.

The actress recalled the experience during an appearance on Sirius XM’s Howard Stern Show in 2024.

‘It was wild,’ she said. ‘It happened mid-sentence.’ 

Aubrey, originally from Delaware, was on her way to a friend’s apartment via subway when she experienced a medical emergency. She had moved to New York City to attend New York University.

She explained that she was on her way to lunch with friends in Astoria when it happened. She hadn’t even entered their apartment and removed her coat yet when the event occurred.

It was a really scary moment – I was temporarily paralyzed, though thankfully it only lasted about a minute. I completely lost the ability to move, and the strangest part was that I even forgot how to speak. It was so disorienting, like my brain just momentarily forgot everything!

Aubrey first talked about her health issue in a 2017 interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, explaining that her friends were so worried they called paramedics, who initially suspected she had taken drugs.

She said: ‘I hadn’t really put anything into my body that day except for birth control.’

At the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with a stroke when she couldn’t touch her left knee with her right hand.

Aubrey recently experienced a few minor strokes, also known as transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs.

I was SO relieved when Aubrey finally seemed healthy again, but then… January 2025 hit, and it was just devastating. Her husband… he was only 47, and they found him gone, right in their LA home. I still can’t even talk about it without getting upset. It was just… awful.

TMZ initially reported that authorities suspected the filmmaker had died by suicide, and this was later proven true.

A spokesperson for Aubrey stated that they were devastated by the tragedy and thankful for the outpouring of support. They asked for privacy during this difficult time.

Aubrey and Jeff had actually broken up in September 2024, four months before Jeff passed away in March 2025. The split was kept private until it was revealed in March.

A recent autopsy report from the LA County Medical Examiner, obtained by DailyMail.com, shows the filmmaker and actress had split up in September. She was living in New York when his body was found on January 3rd.

I was really saddened to read the report about the director of ‘Life After Beth.’ It shared that he was going through a tough time with his marriage in the months before he passed, and that he was even seeing a therapist. It just paints a picture of someone who was clearly struggling, and it’s heartbreaking to learn.

According to documents, Aubrey told an investigator she had spoken with Jeff the night before he died. Her name was removed from the final report.

The report sadly showed that Aubrey was worried about her husband, even though they were separated.

According to records, in October 2024, Baena said things to [Aubrey] that worried her, leading Aubrey to ask a friend to check on her husband. Baena had been in therapy ever since.

The medical examiner found no drugs or alcohol in Jeff’s system when he died.

Aubrey received a text message from her husband on January 3rd, confirming he was still alive.

According to the report, a dog walker found him after noticing loud music coming from his house – something she said wasn’t typical.

After she called him and didn’t get an answer, she entered the home and discovered his remains.

Last August, Aubrey publicly shared her feelings of sadness for the first time since her husband died unexpectedly, in a heartfelt interview.

During an appearance on Amy Poehler’s podcast, ‘Good Hang,’ Amy Schumer addressed the support she’s received, saying, ‘People genuinely care about you and want to know how you’re doing, especially after such a difficult and heartbreaking year…’

You’ve experienced the loss of your husband and have been actively seeking various forms of comfort and support to help you cope.

When Amy asked how she was doing, Aubrey said she felt happy to be with her in that moment. While things weren’t always easy – she described it as a daily challenge – she was generally doing okay and felt grateful for the ability to live her life.

She continued, saying, ‘That comparison doesn’t really make sense, and I was partly kidding when I said it, but I’m serious. Have you seen the movie The Gorge? It’s a sci-fi film with Miles Teller…’

The movie features a dangerous setting with cliffs on both sides and a deep gorge filled with monstrous creatures trying to attack the characters. It was really intense when I watched it…

It feels as though my grief is a vast, overwhelming sadness, like a huge ocean constantly present and visible to me.

I often feel pulled to fully immerse myself in something, to really experience it. Other times, I prefer to simply observe, or even distance myself. But no matter what I do, it’s always present in my thoughts.

Scheduled for release in 2025, ‘The Gorge’ stars Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Sigourney Weaver. The movie centers around two skilled agents assigned to remote guard towers overlooking a massive, secret canyon.

A team is dedicated to safeguarding the world from a hidden threat residing within a deep gorge, working to keep its existence a secret.

Aubrey and Jeff started dating in 2011. In 2017, Aubrey told Page Six that their shared love of movies brought them together, ultimately leading to both a creative and romantic relationship.

They collaborated on movies like the 2014 horror film Life After Beth and the 2017 historical comedy The Little Hours.

In 2021, she revealed that she and Jeff had secretly gotten married the year before, during filming for the movie Spin Me Round, where she played a supporting role. She referred to him as her ‘darling husband’ in an Instagram post, confirming their marriage.

Nine months following Jeff’s death, Aubrey shared her strategies for moving on.

She shared on the Today Show that her grandmother taught her how to cope with difficult times and keep moving on.

She appeared on the show to talk about her latest children’s book, “Luna And The Witch Throw A Halloween Party,” which is her third book overall.

Savannah Guthrie pointed out that Aubrey’s latest book is a tribute to her grandmother, who shared important life lessons with her.

The actress gave a special thanks to her grandmother, Margie, explaining that she learned from a young age to embrace life and find joy even through difficult times. She believes this positive outlook inspired her new book.

The actress, who stars in Megalopolis, explained that she comes from a long line of strong women on both sides of her family, and this project is a tribute to them all.

And now it looks like Aubrey has finally found happiness as she is expecting her first child. 

Before announcing she was expecting, the Parks and Recreation actress had successfully kept her romance with actor Christopher private.

Last June, someone reported seeing the couple being affectionate at Chatham Berry Farm in upstate New York, about five months after the passing of her husband, from whom she was separated.

According to witnesses, she was seen talking to a woman who turned out to be Christopher’s sister, Christina Abbot, shortly before she shared a post on Instagram about an event at the farm.

The two actors first collaborated in 2019 on the independent film Black Bear. In the movie, they each played two characters: both an actor and a director attempting to film a movie in a spooky, remote cabin by a lake.

I was absolutely blown away when I first saw this thriller at Sundance back in January 2020. It’s a really low-budget film, but it completely captivated the critics. Everyone was talking about it, and a lot of reviewers said it was easily Aubrey Plaza’s best work yet – and I completely agree!

In 2023, she reunited with Christopher on stage for a revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. The Off-Broadway production ran through January 2024.

I was so excited to see Aubrey at New York Fashion Week! She was with a new partner, and they both attended the Khaite Fall/Winter 2026 show on Valentine’s Day – February 14th. It was lovely to see them together.

They were photographed sitting together in the front row, with other celebrities like Elizabeth Debicki and Gemma Chan.

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2026-04-09 13:06