Aubrey Plaza is expecting her first child, a little over a year following the heartbreaking loss of her husband, Jeff Baena.

A reliable source has disclosed to the Daily Mail that the “White Lotus” actress, aged 41, is anticipating a baby with her new partner, Christopher Abbott, who is 40.

The couple is keeping the baby’s gender under wraps, but the little one is set to arrive in the fall.

“It was a lovely surprise after what has been an emotional year,” a source shared with People regarding the pregnancy announcement on Tuesday.

Plaza and Abbott, who initially shared the stage on Broadway before their romantic relationship blossomed, reportedly feel “very blessed.”

Abbott gained fame for his role as the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Allison Williams’s character, Marnie, in Lena Dunham’s hit HBO series “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.

Abbott is known for a string of acclaimed roles over the past decade and a half, both on television and on the big screen.

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

Abbott is best known for playing the on–off boyfriend of Allison Williams’s character Marnie on Lena Dunham’s influential HBO comedy Girls; Williams and Abbott are pictured on Girls in 2012

Prior to his breakout role on Girls, Abbott had a small supporting role in the well-reviewed psychological drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, which starred Elizabeth Olsen.

Plaza’s new romance and baby news follow a tragic 2025, in which her estranged husband Jeff Baena died by suicide on January 3.

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. 

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

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.

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.

The actress made her first public appearance since Baena’s death at the SNL 50 special (pictured) in February 2025. She paid tribute to Baena by wearing a tie-dye shirt, as they wore matching tie-dye pajamas at their low-key wedding

In 2018, Plaza told Page Six that the fact that she and Baena mutually ‘obsessed’ with movies helped them bond and led to their subsequent creative and romantic partnerships. 

The couple quietly tied the knot in 2020, and Plaza revealed that they were marrid while promoting Spin Me Round in 2021, when she referred to Baena on Instagram as her ‘darling husband.’

Following his death, Plaza made her first public appearance when she introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special in February 2025.

She made a subtle but moving tribute to her late husband by wearing a tie-dye shirt, as they wore matching tie-dye pajamas at their low-key wedding after he picked up tie-dyeing as a hobby in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.