Aubrey Plaza Honors Late Husband Jeff Baena with a Tie-Dye Shirt at SNL’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

When Aubrey Plaza attended on the SNL50: The Anniversary Special, she had a little tribute to her late husband, Jeff Baena.

On Sunday, Feb. 16, the actress, 40, introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard during the star-studded special. Plaza was dressed in black dress pants and a black blazer with a tie-dye shirt underneath.

Though she kept her look fairly simple, unbeknownst to fans, the Parks & Rec alum’s tie-dye shirt was an homage to the filmmaker, who died in January 2025, and their 2021 wedding.

During a December 2021 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Plaza revealed why the design was significant to their relationship. Instead of wearing a traditional dress and tux for their nuptials, she said that the duo decided to go a different direction.

“Jeff got really into tie-dyeing during the quarantine,” she explained at the time. “So, I decided that Jeff and I were going to wear tie-dye pajamas that he had made for us.”

Plaza and Baena were also frequent work partners, and when it came to their personal and professional lives, the actress admitted that the balance was “complicated” but worth it.

“It’s so great. It’s so complicated,” she continued. “It’s extreme highs and extreme complications. It’s a really hard thing to navigate. But man, we’ve been together for 11 years. We just muscle our way through it.”

Plaza began dating Baena in 2011 and married in 2021. A writer and director, Baena’s film credits include I Heart Huckabees (2004), Life After Beth (2014), Horse Girl (2020) and Spin Me Round (2022), his final movie.

On Jan. 3, an assistant discovered Baena’s body at a Los Angeles-area home around 10:30 a.m. local time, according to TMZ, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner, the manner of death was ruled a suicide.

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Plaza and Baena’s family spoke out about his death in a Jan. 6 statement to PEOPLE that read, “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

SNL50: The Anniversary Special aired Sunday, Feb. 16, on NBC and Peacock.