Aubrey Plaza is pregnant! White Lotus star, 41, is anticipating first baby with companion one 12 months after husband’s dying
Aubrey Plaza is pregnant with her first child just over a year after the tragic death of her husband Jeff Baena.
A source confirmed to the Daily Mail that the White Lotus star, 41, is expecting a child with her new partner, Christopher Abbott, 40.
The baby, whose gender has not been revealed, is due in the fall.
‘It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,’ a source told People of the pregnancy news on Tuesday.
Plaza and Abbott, who previously costarred on Broadway before falling in love, are said to be feeling ‘very blessed.’
Abbott is best known for playing the on–off boyfriend of Allison Williams‘s character Marnie on Lena Dunham‘s influential HBO comedy Girls.
Aubrey Plaza is pregnant with her first child just over a year after the tragic death of her husband Jeff Baena; seen in March 2026
A representative for The White Lotus star, 41, confirmed to the Daily Mail on Tuesday that she is expecting a child with her new partner, Christopher Abbott, 40; the couple seen in 2020
The couple first worked together in 2019 on the indie psychological drama Black Bear, in which both actors played dual roles as actors and directors trying to shoot a film in an eerie, isolated lake house.
The low-budget thriller premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020 to critical acclaim, with several reviewers singling it out as one of Plaza’s best roles to date.
She worked again with Abbott in 2023 — this time on stage — in the Off Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play Danny And The Deep Blue Sea, which ran into January 2024.
Plaza and her new partner were last seen together on February 14 when they attended Khaite’s Fall/Winter 2026 show as part of New York Fashion Week. The two were pictured sitting side-by-side in the front row alongside stars including Elizabeth Debicki and Gemma Chan.
Prior to revealing her pregnancy, the Parks And Recreation star had managed to keep her relationship with Abbott under the radar.
According to DeuxMoi, a source had spotted Plaza and Abbot looking affectionate at the Chatham Berry Farm, which is a two-and-a-half-hour drive outside of New York City, in June 2025, five months after the death of Plaza’s estranged husband.
They claimed that Plaza was spotted speaking to a woman whom they later learned was Abbott’s older sister, Christina Abbot, and she went on to post on Instagram in June about a performance at the Chatham Berry Farm.
Plaza’s new romance and baby news follow a tragic 2025, in which her estranged husband Jeff Baena died by suicide on January 3.
Plaza first worked with Abbott on screen in the 2020 psychological drama Black Bear; both are pictured in a still from Black Bear
They collaborated again on stage in 2023 in the Off Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play Danny And The Deep Blue Sea; pictured together in November 2023 in NYC
Plaza and her new partner were last seen together in February when they attended Khaite’s Fall/Winter 2026 show as part of New York Fashion Week; pictured at the show on February 14
It was subsequently revealed that the couple had separated four months before his untimely death.
An LA County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report obtained by the Daily Mail revealed that the filmmaker and actress had separated back in September of 2024, and she had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered.
The report detailed how the Life After Beth director had been ‘experiencing marital difficulties’ in his final months, and how he had been in therapy.
An investigator noted in the documents that Plaza, whose name was redacted in the final report, said she had spoken with Baena the night before his death.
The report also tragically revealed that Plaza had been concerned for her estranged husband’s well-being.
‘In October 2024, Baena made concerning remarks to [Plaza] which prompted her to call a friend to perform a welfare check on her husband. Baena had been attending therapy since that event,’ the documents stated.
The report determined that Baena did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
It stated that Plaza ‘knew her husband to be alive’ as of January 3 because he had sent her a text message that morning.
Plaza had been separated since September from her husband Jeff Baena, an LA County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com revealed; seen in 2017 in Culver City, Calif.
The couple began dating in 2011 and secretly married in 2020. Baena was found dead in their marital home on January 3, 2025, while Plaza had been living in NYC since their September 2024 separation; seen in 2016 in LA
According to the report, it was a dog walker who discovered Baena’s body after hearing loud music emanating from his house, which she said was ‘unusual.’
After she called the writer and director and didn’t get an answer, she entered the home and discovered his body.
In a statement to the Daily Mail at the time, a representative for the Plaza said: ‘This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.’
Baena, who was known for hosting a popular series of game nights for friends and fellow filmmakers, met Plaza at one of the events in 2011, and the two began dating shortly afterward.
Baena, who got his big break when he co-wrote David O. Russell’s 2004 cult comedy I Heart Huckabees, later made his directing debut with the 2014 zombie comedy Life After Beth, which starred Plaza.
They reunited for 2016’s Joshy and 2017’s The Little Hours, which Plaza also produced, and she had a supporting role in his dark comedy thriller Spin Me Round, which starred Alison Brie, who co-wrote the film with Baena.
