Aubrey Plaza makes first public appearance at SNL 50 special after husband Jeff Baena’s death

Aubrey Plaza made her first public appearance after her husband Jeff Baena’s death at the SNL 50: The Anniversary Special.

On Sunday, the actress took to the stage briefly and introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard at the three-hour special airing on NBC and Peacock.

She did not walk the star-studded red carpet preceding the event at the Rockefeller Center in New York City. 

Stepping out for the first time while grieving the loss of her husband, the Parks and Recreation alum wore a black blazer, slacks and a tie-dye T-shirt — which appeared to be a nod to her dearly departed husband.

Her appearance comes six weeks after her late husband died from suicide at age 47 on January 3.

She previously hosted an episode of the long-running sketch comedy series back on January 21, 2023. 

At the beginning of the year, Baena died at their marital home in Los Angeles. 

Three days after his death, Plaza broke her silence as she shared a joint statement with their family. 

‘This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support,’ the statement read. 

‘Please respect our privacy during this time.’

That same week, Plaza was originally scheduled to present an award at the 2025 Golden Globes on January 5 but stepped down after her husband’s passing. 

During the ceremony, Brady Corbet sent his condolences and well wishes to Plaza when accepting the best director award for The Brutalist. 

‘Tonight, my heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family,’ he said during his acceptance speech. 

Baena was a writer and director, whom Plaza worked alongside when she starred in his directorial debut movie Life After Beth.

They started dating in 2011 after meeting during a game of Balderdash.

In 2017, Plaza opened up about their shared love of film, which led to their collaborative projects. 

‘We’re so obsessed with movies,’ she told Page Six nearly a decade ago. ‘That’s why we’re making movies together.’ 

Three years later, they collaborated on their horror-comedy Life After Beth. 

The couple, who kept their romance relatively private, secretly tied the knot in a spur-of-the-moment wedding during the pandemic. 

In 2021, Plaza confirmed they had officially become husband and wife one year earlier. 

She casually dropped the news on Instagram when
she referred to Baena as her ‘darling husband’ ahead of the release of their 2022 movie Spin Me Round. 

‘So proud of my darling husband for dreaming up another film that takes us to Italia to cause some more trouble,’ she wrote at the time. 

She later opened up about their impromptu backyard wedding while making an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 

She described their ceremony as ‘witchy’ as she spoke about how they spontaneously tied the knot, while wearing homemade tie-dye pajamas, on their 10-year anniversary.