In her first appearance since her husband’s death, actress Aubrey Plaza was present at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary event on Sunday 16 February in New York City.
She introduced a musical act for the event and took the moment to honor her late husband Jeff Baena with a heartbreaking outfit detail that fans quickly took notice of.
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They were together since 2011
The actress and the film director had been in a relationship since 2011 until they decided to tie the knot in 2021 in a private ceremony at their home after deciding to get married “on a whim” according to Plaza.
Baena passed away in January
It was announced on 3 January 2025 that Jeff Baena had passed away.
The Los Angeles’ County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that the film director and writer had died from suicide after being found at his Los Angeles home that morning at around 10:30am.
Plaza honored him in her SNL appearance
The actress appeared at the SNL 50th anniversary event on Sunday alongside other big names like Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard as she was the one to introduce the music acts at the event.
She took the moment to honor her late husband with her outfit, which fans were quick to notice the significance of.
Her shirt was in tribute to Baena
The White Lotus actress’s first public appearance since her husband’s death showed her wearing a black blazer with a tie-dye shirt underneath it.
Fans noticed the outfit and were quick to explain the significance behind the tie-dye shirt, saying that the shirt was in tribute to Baena.
Plaza had previously revealed that her husband had a special love towards tie-dye clothes; they even wore the pattern at their wedding.
Plaza had shared the wedding outfits
Back in 2021, Plaza told The Drew Barrymore Show that her wedding didn’t include traditional outfits, but rather the couple wore tie-dye pajamas made by Baena himself.
She shared details about her wedding: “We got married on a whim. Literally decided at around 5pm and got married at 8:30,” she had said, according to The Independent.
Baena had a love for tie-dye
“Jeff got really into tie-dyeing during the quarantine. So, I decided that Jeff and I were going to wear tie-dye pajamas that he had made for us. I made a love altar in the backyard of all of our love objects. It was very witchcore, but it happened,” she shared.
The two worked projects together
The actor and director couple worked together several times during their relationship. With Plaza starring in Baena’s horror-comedy Life After Beth and other of his works like The Little Hours and Spin Me Round.
Their family shared a statement after his death
After the 47-year-old’s untimely death, the couple’s families, Plaza and Baena/Stern, released a statement to the public asking for privacy.
The statement read: “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
The actress’ team also released a statement that read: “The family is devastated and asks for privacy at this difficult time.”
