The actress, 41, shared candid thoughts on impending motherhood during a podcast appearance, weeks after her rep confirmed the news
Aubrey Plaza has broken her silence on her pregnancy, telling the hosts of the SmartLess podcast in a characteristically deadpan reveal: “Well, there’s a baby inside of me.” The announcement, set to air on the April 20 episode of the show, marks the first time the 41-year-old actress has spoken publicly about expecting her first child with actor Christopher Abbott.
A Doctor Visit, A Dog Scan, And A Baby Announcement
Leave it to Plaza to turn a pregnancy reveal into a comedy bit. Appearing alongside hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes, she described a particularly eventful day in which she and her dog had ultrasounds at the same time. “Today was a big day. I went to the doctor’s today, and my dog went too. And both of us — my dog’s getting a scan right now. I got a scan earlier. I’m not kidding,” she told the hosts.
She went on to explain that her dog needed an abdominal scan, and so did she, with very different results. “There is a baby in there,” she confirmed. In true Plaza fashion, she added that the baby appeared to already have a “cloak and a little hat,” quipping, “I think it’s gonna come out.”
When the hosts asked whether she felt excited about becoming a mother, Plaza said she had always been curious about the experience of parenthood. “I’ve always wanted to see what that’s all about, you know? It just seems so interesting,” she said. The comment was vintage Plaza — understated, a little wry, but clearly genuine.
Who Is Christopher Abbott?
Abbott, 40, and Plaza share a creative history that stretches back several years. The two appeared together in the 2020 film Black Bear and later reunited for a 2023 off-Broadway revival of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. Despite their professional overlap, the couple has kept their romantic relationship almost entirely out of the public eye. Abbott has not made any public statement about the pregnancy, though a source told People that the two “feel very blessed” and described the news as “a beautiful surprise after an emotional year.”
Plaza was spotted with a visible baby bump while walking her dog in Manhattan last week, which first drew public attention before her representative officially confirmed the pregnancy.
A New Chapter After Profound Loss
The timing of this pregnancy carries significant emotional weight. Plaza’s estranged husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena, died by suicide in January 2025 at age 47. The two had married in 2021 following a decade together, but were separated at the time of his death. In August 2025, Plaza spoke with her former Parks and Recreation costar Amy Poehler on the podcast Good Hang about navigating grief in the aftermath. “Overall, I’m here, and I’m functioning,” she told Poehler. “I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m okay, but it’s like a daily struggle, obviously.”
That conversation came just months before news of her pregnancy emerged, painting a picture of a woman who has been quietly rebuilding her life while processing an enormous loss. The source close to the couple, who spoke to People, seemed to acknowledge that directly, describing the baby news as coming after what had clearly been a turbulent stretch.
What Plaza’s Openness Means for Parents Watching
For parents and expectant mothers who have followed Plaza’s career, her candor on SmartLess offers something rare: a celebrity pregnancy moment that feels genuinely unscripted. She did not announce the news through a polished magazine cover or a carefully worded Instagram caption. She mentioned her ultrasound in the same breath as her dog’s, and described the whole concept of becoming a mother as simply “interesting.”
Plaza also used the podcast appearance to discuss something she had never spoken about publicly before, a stroke she suffered at age 20, which she speculated may have been connected to the birth control she was taking at the time. That disclosure, made in the same conversation as her pregnancy news, underscores how much ground she covered in what will be a closely watched episode when it drops on April 20.
Plans for raising the child on the East Coast have also been mentioned, suggesting that Plaza and Abbott are already thinking practically about the next phase of their lives together. For a woman who spent much of the past year focused on survival and grief, the arrival of a new life, announced with humor, honesty, and a well-timed dog joke — feels like exactly the kind of forward momentum that matters most.
