The Celeb Aubrey Plaza Almost Married For The Most Bizarre Reason

The queen of deadpan, Aubrey Plaza, met her comedic match when she was young, and almost married him. The "Parks and Recreation" alum has always been very committed to her offbeat Hollywood persona, but she nearly went full throttle by tying the knot with her ex-boyfriend, fellow actor Michael Cera. Plaza and Cera met on the set of the 2010 film, "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World." After working together for a while, the pair began dating on set, with Plaza telling RuPaul on his "What's the Tee?" podcast that they were together for a year and a half. The similarly awkward "Superbad" star would have been a perfect, lifelong companion for Plaza, if that's what they were aiming for. Cera revealed in 2023 that their matrimonial ventures were simply for committing to the humorous bit.

"Well, we were driving through Vegas, and we almost just spontaneously took a detour and got married," the "Arrested Development" actor told Rolling Stone of his near-nuptials to Plaza. Cera described it as a quintessential Las Vegas elopement: no frills, just a piece of paper — and maybe an Elvis impersonator, as the magazine pointed out. He continued: "I think the idea was to then get a divorce right away, so we could call each other "my ex-husband" and "my ex-wife" at like ... 20." Knowing what type of partner Plaza would be based on her zodiac sign, Cera might now be pining over what could have been.

Aubrey Plaza didn't say "I do" to Michael Cera, but she did find love in another industry legend. Plaza quietly married screenwriter and director Jeff Baena in 2021. After only a few years of marriage, tragedy struck Plaza when Baena died by suicide in January 2025. He was 47. Baena was known for his work on films like "Horse Girl" and "Life After Beth," in which his wife starred. Plaza and the Baena family released a statement after his death, saying (via CBS News): "This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time."

Plaza and Baena were together for 10 years before getting married. The "White Lotus" actor revealed on "The Ellen Show" that their wedding ceremony was an impromptu decision. "We got a little bored one night," Plaza said of their spur-of-the-moment nuptials during the COVID-19 lockdown. "We got married and I'll tell you how: 'One hour marriage dot com.' That's real. Look it up." Plaza called the marriage service, who showed up two hours later and, with the help of the neighborhood witch, married Plaza and Baena. "I can't remember a lot of it, it was fuzzy," she joked. "But I'm pretty sure it's legal."