Aaron Rodgers has revisited one of the most talked-about relationships of his past, offering a much more personal account of his engagement to Shailene Woodley. During a podcast appearance, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback described the breakup from his perspective and disputed claims that he was responsible for Woodley’s emotional struggles after their relationship ended.
Aaron Rodgers makes fresh claims about Shailene Woodley engagement
Rodgers and Woodley became engaged after beginning their relationship in 2020. Rodgers publicly confirmed the engagement during his 2020 NFL Honors acceptance speech, while Woodley later acknowledged it during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Their engagement did not last long. Rodgers said the relationship began to unravel after Woodley reconsidered their plans for marriage. He claimed that she removed her engagement ring a few months after accepting his proposal.
Rodgers also alleged that Woodley told him she wanted to be intimate with someone else before they married. “Before we get married, I’ve got to go to f**k this guy.”
Rodgers said the couple attempted to repair their relationship afterward, but those efforts ultimately failed. He pushed back strongly against suggestions that he had abandoned Woodley or caused the personal difficulties she later described. “And, Shay, like — you left me. You took the ring off. What are we talking about? That I ruined your life? Just stop with the narratives,” Rodgers said.
Woodley has previously spoken about the emotional toll of the period without directly assigning blame to Rodgers. In a 2024 interview with Outside magazine, she described early 2022 as an extremely painful period in her life.
“I had a really awful, traumatic thing happen in early 2022,” Woodley said. “I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy. I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment.”
She also offered a more complicated description of the relationship itself. “I haven’t shared much about my relationship with Aaron because it always makes me cry. It was not right. But it was beautiful,” she said.
Aaron Rodgers reveals how he met his current wife
Rodgers also discussed another relationship during the podcast, revealing that he had met his future wife, Brittani, years before his romances with Danica Patrick and Woodley.
According to Rodgers, the two first met in 2017, but circumstances prevented their relationship from developing. She was preparing to return to Europe, and Rodgers said he later regretted not asking her to stay or taking the relationship further.
“That sent me into a tailspin of wondering what I could be accused of as a partner in a relationship,” Rodgers said.
He believes that missed opportunity affected his personal life for years. Rodgers said he became emotionally unavailable while concentrating heavily on football. The relationship eventually came full circle.
“Then, she was engaged. Then, I got engaged. Luckily for me, we came back together,” Rodgers said.
Now entering his 22nd NFL season with the Steelers, Rodgers has opened another window into a personal chapter that continues to attract public interest. His latest comments provide his side of a breakup that both he and Woodley have described as complicated, painful and significant.
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