Aubrey Plaza, 42, Shows Baby Bump in Selfie as First Child's Due Date Nears

Q: What hidden controversies surround the timeline of Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott's highly anticipated first pregnancy?

The controversy is not about the pregnancy itself, but about how the timeline has been interpreted in public. Plaza’s pregnancy became public in April 2026, roughly 15 months after the January 2025 death of her estranged husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena. Because Baena’s death followed reports that he and Plaza had separated in September 2024, some online commentary and tabloid coverage framed her pregnancy with Christopher Abbott as happening “too soon,” and in some cases implied overlap or infidelity. There is no verified public evidence supporting those claims. What is established is narrower: Plaza and Abbott had known each other professionally since working on Black Bear in 2019 and later reunited for Danny and the Deep Blue Sea in 2023-24. Their romance was not publicly confirmed until 2025-26, and the exact point when their relationship turned romantic has not been publicly detailed. That lack of a precise public timeline has fueled speculation. Critics have used the short span between Baena’s death and Plaza’s pregnancy reveal to question whether she moved on too quickly. Others have pushed back, noting that Baena was estranged from Plaza at the time of his death and that grief, separation and new relationships do not follow a public timetable. Experts cited in related coverage have stressed that grief should not be judged by calendar math alone, and that women in particular often face harsher scrutiny than men when rebuilding their personal lives after loss.

3 articles · Updated · E! NEWS · Jul 27

Instagram Stories posted July 25 showed Aubrey Plaza lifting her tank top for a mirror selfie, offering a fresh look at her pregnancy as her first baby's due date appears close.
A second photo showed Plaza and partner Christopher Abbott assembling a stroller with Bambi Baby CEO Enelio Ortega, signaling the couple is in final preparations for the birth.
Plaza's pregnancy was confirmed April 7, and she said on an April 20 SmartLess podcast that a doctor visit and ultrasound had made the experience feel newly real.
The baby will be Plaza's first child with Abbott, whose relationship became public this spring after years of collaborating onscreen and onstage.