Aubrey Plaza’s Pregnancy News Is Putting A Spotlight On An Awful Truth About Widows

Keep your judgment about Aubrey Plaza's pregnancy to yourself.

Senior Reporter, Work/Life

Actor Aubrey Plaza is expecting a baby with her partner, actor Christopher Abbott, according to her representative.

But instead of sharing congratulations, many people on social media are responding with judgment about how soon Plaza should be moving forward as a grieving widow. In 2025, Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, died by suicide.

“She should’ve at least waited a few years,” one popular X post reads, while another commenter remarked that having a new partner one year after your previous partner dies “seems a little weird.”

This backlash is all too common. There is still an outdated idea that widows should have a long, formal mourning period, even though there is no single correct or certain timeline about how a grieving person should date or find love again.

“Society thinks you shouldn’t do anything for a year. You’re supposed to mourn a full season of cycles,” grief counsellor Jill Cohen told HuffPost. “What’s important to remember is that we never know what’s behind the story” of why people do or don’t........

© HuffPost