“Shattered and Heartbroken: Aubrey Plaza Breaks Silence on Husband Jeff Baena’s Tragic Death by Suicide — ‘An Unimaginable Tragedy'”

The actress’ husband died by suicide on Friday, Jan. 3 at age 47

Aubrey Plaza and the family of her late husband, Jeff Baena, have spoken out following his death.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time,” the statement to PEOPLE read.

Baena, a writer and director, died by suicide at age 47 on Friday, Jan. 3.

Baena had more than a dozen directing and film credits to his name. Notably, he made his directorial debut by writing and directing Life After Beth, a zombie comedy starring Plaza, and then created an anthology series titled Cinema Toast, which aired on Showtime in 2021 and marked Plaza’s own directorial debut.

He met and started dating Plaza in 2011. Fans learned that the two had tied the knot in May 2021, when Plaza, 40, referred to Baena as her “darling husband” in an Instagram post.

A rep later confirmed to PEOPLE that the couple had tied the knot.

“I think that one of the great things about our careers is that we are forced to be independent, take little breaks, go off and do our things and come back,” Plaza said about their relationship in a 2019 interview with PEOPLE. “So it’s kind of fun. Nothing is ever the same. You don’t want to spend too much time a part. But I think that there’s a way that it can work and there’s a balance in that.”