Aubrey Plaza
Plaza and Abbott first worked together on 'Black Bear' in 2020 before reuniting for an off-Broadway play in 2023. X

Aubrey Plaza is expecting her first child with partner Christopher Abbott, more than a year after the death of her husband, Jeff Baena.

A source told People the baby is due 'this fall' and that the couple 'feel very blessed'. Plaza's representative confirmed the news to the publication on Tuesday.

'It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,' the source added.

From Co-Stars to Partners

Plaza, 41, and Abbott, 40, share a professional history that spans nearly six years. The pair first worked together on Black Bear, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. In the film, they played creative collaborators who become lovers.

Three years later, they reunited for an off-Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York.

The 1984 play follows two damaged souls who find unexpected love after meeting in a Bronx dive bar.

In both projects, the pair portrayed characters drawn together through shared vulnerability.

Plaza made her stage debut in the production, which ran from October 2023 to January 2024 and recouped its initial investment.

The play's director, Jeff Ward, told BroadwayWorld in November 2023 that Plaza and Abbott were 'both so talented, but they're also very playful and very fearless as actors.'

The couple had not publicly confirmed their romantic relationship before the pregnancy announcement.

A Year of Grief and Healing

The news comes more than a year after Baena, a filmmaker and screenwriter, died in January 2025 at the age of 47. Plaza and Baena had separated in September 2024 following three years of marriage.

Plaza addressed her grief publicly for the first time on her former Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast in August 2025.

'Overall, I'm here and I'm functioning,' she said. 'I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I'm OK, but it's a daily struggle, obviously.'

She compared the experience to watching the 2025 film The Gorge. 'There's like a cliff on one side, and there's a cliff on the other side, then there's a gorge in between,' she explained. 'At all times there's like a giant ocean of awfulness, that's right there, and I can see it.'

Hiding the News at Paris Fashion Week

Last month, Plaza kept her pregnancy under wraps while attending Paris Fashion Week. At the Loewe Womenswear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show on 6 March, she wore an oversized black leather jacket layered over a red turtleneck.

She later appeared at the Lacoste presentation in an oversized red top paired with a white pleated mini skirt.

What Comes Next

Plaza is best known for her role as April Ludgate on NBC's Parks and Recreation and her Emmy-nominated turn in season two of HBO's The White Lotus. She recently starred in Ethan Coen's neo-noir comedy Honey Don't! and appeared in the Marvel series Agatha All Along.

Abbott rose to prominence through his role as Charlie Dattolo on HBO's Girls and has since appeared in The Crowded Room and Catch-22.

For Plaza, motherhood will bring a new audience for her creative work. She has authored two children's books, The Legend of the Christmas Witch and its 2022 follow-up, The Return of the Christmas Witch.

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