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Aaron Rodgers is making headlines after delivering blunt remarks about several of his former relationships. During a September 10 appearance on the “Not Just Football” podcast, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback argued that his past partners received their greatest public attention while dating him. “The height of their fame was when they were with me. They get clicks when they say my name,” Rodgers said. He also addressed his relationship with retired NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, saying her post-retirement struggles created tension between them. “She had just retired. She was depressed and not fun to be around, but I didn’t leave her because I was trying to be there and be a good partner,” he said. However, Rodgers’ comments about Shailene Woodley proved even more explosive.
Rodgers alleged that difficulties emerged soon after he and Woodley became engaged. “I date Shailene, I propose, and she says yes,” he said. “But not a couple of days after that, she tells me before we get married, like, ‘I got to go f*** this guy.’” The pair announced their engagement in December 2020, though Rodgers claimed the relationship began unraveling within months. According to the quarterback, the “Divergent” actor had removed her engagement ring by March 2021 and was ultimately the person who ended the engagement.
The timing of Rodgers’ sharp comments about his former fiancée was notable. Just days earlier, Woodley had enjoyed a major career moment, collecting her first Emmy for playing Annie in Hulu’s “Paradise.” She marked the occasion in a striking white minidress, delivering what was widely seen as one of her strongest red-carpet appearances in years. Woodley has previously spoken about recognizing warning signs during her relationship with Rodgers.
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Shailene Woodley was unhappy during time with Aaron Rodgers
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Woodley publicly confirmed her engagement to Rodgers on “The Tonight Show” in February 2021, though he had proposed several months earlier. Their relationship ended roughly a year later. At the time, a source told InTouch that Woodley believed football had taken priority over their partnership. “While Shailene is supportive of Aaron’s career, he put football first and they were barely spending any time together,” the source said in February 2022. “She felt he neglected their relationship. Neither of them was happy.”
In a February 2024 interview with Outside, Woodley described that chapter of her life in deeply personal terms. “I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy,” she said of the period when she was involved with Rodgers. “That was the lowest low of my life.” Reflecting on the relationship became emotional for the “The Descendants” star, who said, “I haven’t shared much about my relationship with Aaron because it … always makes me cry,” as the interviewer noted that she had welled up. Still, Woodley said the experience was not without meaning: “It was not right. But it was beautiful.”
Later in 2024, Woodley discussed how heartbreak had reshaped the way she approaches romance. Without naming Rodgers, she told Bustle in September that she had repeatedly found herself drawn to emotionally unavailable partners. “Just a broken heart. A broken heart that healed and broke again. I fell in love over and over with unavailability,” she said.