Aubrey Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, wrote movie inspired by family’s mental health struggles before his death

Aubrey Plaza’s late husband, Jeff Baena, co-wrote a movie about his family’s mental health struggles five years before his sudden death.

Baena — who died by suicide on Friday — co-wrote “Horse Girl” with the film’s star, Alison Brie, and told Reddit users ahead of the film’s 2020 release what inspired the project.

“Alison and I both have had family members who have had mental illness, and it was a major influence on working on this,” he wrote in response to a fan question.

Baena — who also directed “Horse Girl” — explained that his first stepmother had “manic depression and was in and out of facilities in Miami due to the baker act (5150 in California).”

A fan then asked the two writers whether the film was made to be a “statement” about how the current systems are “failing” those with mental health struggles.

“While I would not consider ‘Horse Girl’ to be an activist film, the themes of how we as a society and individuals treat persons with mental illness was a major focus and impetus for making this,” Baena responded.

Baena also touched upon how individuals who “still need treatment” are “released all the time” from mental health facilities.

“The 72 hour mandatory hold only applies to patients who are a danger to themselves, so they must be released after that appraisal period,” he explained to a fan.

Brie, 42, noted that she “tapped into very real emotions” while working on the film due to her experience with her grandmother having “paranoid schizophrenia.”

“It’s based on my family’s history with mental illness, specifically my grandmother’s schizophrenia, and my fear of that existing in my DNA,” the “Mad Men” actress wrote at the time.

Baena — who also worked on “Spin Me Round” with Plaza and Brie — was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Friday. He was 47.

An assistant found Baena at home, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Los Angeles Police Department told Page Six that they “responded to a death Investigation” and that “the case is being handled by the Coroner’s Office.”

Plaza, 40, has not spoken publicly about her husband’s death, however, her rep released a statement to Deadline in which she and her family asked for “privacy at this difficult time.”

The “White Lotus” alum and Baena secretly wed in 2020, however, she didn’t announce their marriage until May 2021. They did not have any children.

Plaza and the screenwriter began dating in 2010 and went on to work on multiple projects together, including 2014’s “Life After Beth.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.