Aaron Rodgers has set off a firestorm after unloading on two of his famous exes in a stunning podcast appearance, making deeply personal claims about Shailene Woodley and Danica Patrick that quickly sparked backlash.
The 42-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback opened up about his romantic history during an appearance on teammate Cam Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast — and he did not hold back.
Rodgers made perhaps his most explosive comments while discussing his failed engagement to Woodley, claiming the actress told him just days after accepting his proposal that she wanted to sleep with another man before they got married.
“I proposed to Shailene and she said yes,” Rodgers recalled, adding that she could have rejected the proposal if she felt pressured.
He then claimed that only days later, Woodley told him she needed to “go f— this guy” before they tied the knot.
The extraordinary allegation immediately attracted attention, especially because Woodley has previously spoken about the emotional pain surrounding that period of her life.
Rodgers also pushed back against the idea that he was responsible for Woodley’s depression after their breakup.
According to Rodgers, Woodley had already stopped wearing her engagement ring by March 2021, only a few months after he proposed in December. He claimed the couple attempted to reconcile several times but never truly repaired the relationship.
Rodgers insisted that by 2022 there was barely a relationship left to end.
His remarks reportedly alarmed people close to Woodley, particularly because the actress has described that chapter of her life as deeply painful and emotionally difficult. Representatives for Woodley had not publicly responded to Rodgers’ newest claims at the time of the reports.
But Rodgers was not finished.
He also took aim at former NASCAR star Danica Patrick, whom he dated from 2018 until 2020.
Patrick claimed in 2025 that Rodgers had been emotionally abusive during their relationship and said being with him “wore me down to nothing.”
Rodgers strongly rejected that characterization during the podcast.
Instead, he described Patrick as depressed during their relationship and said she was “not fun to be around.” He also claimed their relationship lacked intimacy and said the couple had even tried counseling before ultimately separating.
Rodgers also appeared to take a swipe at the fame of both women, declaring that the “height of their fame” came while they were dating him.
He accused his exes of bringing up his name because it generates attention and dismissed their portrayals of him as untrue.
“Stop talking about me,” Rodgers said during the interview, adding that they should “move on” with their lives.
The comments quickly drew criticism because of how publicly and personally Rodgers discussed relationships that ended years ago.
Woodley and Rodgers became engaged in 2020 and publicly confirmed their engagement in early 2021 before eventually splitting.
Woodley later described the relationship as both meaningful and painful and has spoken openly about struggling emotionally during that period.
Rodgers, meanwhile, revealed that his heart may have been somewhere else even while he was involved with both Patrick and Woodley.
He said he first met his current wife, Brittani, back in 2017 — before either of those relationships.
According to Rodgers, Brittani was preparing to return to Europe when they met, and he now considers not asking her to stay one of the biggest regrets of his life.
“My biggest regret is not begging her to stay or just proposing right there,” Rodgers said.
He said losing that relationship sent him into what he described as an emotional tailspin and left him unavailable for years.
Rodgers said he threw himself into football while both he and Brittani went on to become involved with other people.
Eventually, however, the two found their way back to each other.
Rodgers later quietly married Brittani, whose identity he has largely kept out of the public eye.
The quarterback also used the wide-ranging podcast interview to attack several public figures and institutions. In a separate political portion of the interview, Rodgers criticized President Donald Trump and argued that the MAGA movement no longer existed in the way supporters had been promised. Those remarks drew separate attention from his relationship bombshells.
But it was Rodgers’ scorched-earth comments about Woodley and Patrick that generated some of the strongest reaction.
After years of relatively limited public discussion about the intimate details of his engagement to Woodley, Rodgers suddenly aired allegations involving sex, depression, broken engagements and accusations of emotional abuse — leaving his famous exes dragged back into the spotlight whether they wanted to be there or not.
What an egotistical JERK. Racing fans know of football (usually), but Danica is far more known for racing (only woman to ever LEAD the Indy 500, and only woman to WIN an Indy car race) than for dating a Chedderhead !
She grew up racing karts in Wisconsin (Sugar River Raceway, Broadhead WI).
If Rogers was any good, he would have never left, but would have retired as a Packer. He outlived is usefulness to the Pack.
And I’m a Bears fan !