Aubrey Plaza compares her grieving process after her late husband Jeff Baena’s loss with the characters of Apple TV+’s The Gorge

Aubrey Plaza opens up about grieving her late husband and filmmaker, Jeff Baena, during her recent appearance on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast. Plaza starred in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation alongside Poehler since the first season. So, the two have known each other for over a decade and have been close friends. Poehler opened the interview by asking Plaza how she is doing in the wake of this tragedy.

“To get it out of the way, people want to see you and see how you are. They love you, and they want to see you. You had this terrible, terrible, tragic year. You lost your husband. You’ve been dealing with that, and you’ve been looking for all different ways in which to feel and find support. On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?” said Poehler.

Plaza began speaking about the traumatic aftermath by saying,

“I’m in this very present moment, [and] I’m happy to be with you. Overall I’m here and I’m functioning, and I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I’m OK. But, you know, it’s a daily struggle, obviously.”

The White Lotus star further offered an analogy to reveal the weight of her overbearing trauma. She referred to the recent Apple Studios sci-fi romance film The Gorge, which featured Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as two mercenaries keeping guard over a gorge. The place was home to mysterious, evil creatures. Despite the gorge keeping them apart, they are drawn to each other’s presence.

Aubrey Plaza used the deep hole between them as a metaphor for the emotional void in her life since the late filmmaker’s unfortunate death.

Aubrey Plaza opens up about grief, drawing parallels to The Gorge

"Honey Don't!" Red Carpet - The 78th Annual Cannes Film Festival - Source: Getty

While speaking with her Parks and Recreation co-star, Aubrey Plaza described how The Gorge relates to her emotional pain.

"In the movie, there’s a cliff on one side and a cliff on the other side, and there’s a gorge [in the middle] with monster people that are trying to get them. I watched it, I was like, ‘That's what this feels like, what my grief is like — or what grief could be like.’" said Aubrey Plaza.

She further added,

"At all times, there’s like a giant ocean of awfulness that’s right there, and I can see it. And sometimes, I just want to dive into it and be in it. And then sometimes, I just look at it. And then sometimes, I’m just trying to get away from it. But it’s always there. It’s just always there. And the monster people are trying to get me.”

Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena had been in a relationship for over a decade and got married in 2021. Plaza starred in Baena’s feature directorial projects Life After Beth, Joshy, The Little Hours, and Spin Me Round.

After Baena’s death, Plaza shared a joint statement with her family, which read:

“This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Love movies? Try our Box Office Game and Movie Grid Game to test your film knowledge and have some fun!

Comment

Edited by Ritika Pal