Everything NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Has Said About Love, Romance and Past Relationships

Credit: imageSPACE/Shutterstock

Everything NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Has Said About Love, Romance and Past Relationships

A rare glimpse into Aaron Rodgers’ personal life. The Green Bay Packers quarterback has been in several high-profile relationships over the years, but he hardly ever opens up about his love life. Rodgers dated Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szohr on and off before he started seeing Olivia Munn in 2014. "My boyfriend's healthiness inspires me. Aaron is different than every other man I've ever met,” the Newsroom alum gushed to Good Housekeeping about Rodgers in 2015. “There's so much I could say. Everything a good person can be, he is. He's in such great shape, and especially lately, he's been eating so well and working out. Having somebody in your life like that is so motivating." After three years together, Rodgers and Munn called it quits in 2017. The NFL player was briefly linked to model Kelly Rohrbach before Us Weekly confirmed he was dating Danica Patrick. During an October 2018 interview, Rodgers spoke publicly about their romance after keeping mum about his other loves in the past. “I have been so private for so long. I believe that you should be able to have some private life that’s not out there all the time. I have been private for so long, and when you are that private, it can isolate you a bit,” he told Artful Living at the time. “When you just let go and don’t worry about it as much, you’re actually practicing that indifference all the time. Then any type of response, positive or negative, to one of my posts or one of Danica’s posts that I’m in doesn’t bother me.” [jwplayer zPq1MHB5-zhNYySv2] News broke in July 2020 that Rodgers and Patrick were no longer together. While Us confirmed in February 2021 that he was dating Shailene Woodley, reports revealed that the twosome had been quietly dating for several months before he announced he was engaged. “2020 was definitely a crazy year filled with lots of change, growth, some amazing, memorable moments, 180 straight days of having my nose hair scraped, playing for very little fans or no stands the entire season,” Rodgers began while accepting the 2020 AP Most Valuable Player during the NFL Honors awards before thanking his “fiancée” in February 2021. He continued: “I got engaged and I played some of the best football in my career. So I’d like to thank, first and foremost, my teammates for their support, their inspiration, protection, incredible play on the field. … Off the field, I’ve got a great group of people that support me, so I’d like to thank my team.” One year later, Us confirmed that the four-time NFL MVP and the Big Little Lies alum split. “Shailene has been super busy with work,” a source exclusively told Us in February 2022, noting that Rodgers is always “focused” on football. “Everything was so different during lockdown, and they had been living in their bubble.” Scroll through for Rodgers quotes about love and his exes: [podcast_block]

Credit: imageSPACE/Shutterstock

Everything NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Has Said About Love, Romance and Past Relationships

A rare glimpse into Aaron Rodgers’ personal life. The Green Bay Packers quarterback has been in several high-profile relationships over the years, but he hardly ever opens up about his love life. Rodgers dated Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szohr on and off before he started seeing Olivia Munn in 2014. "My boyfriend's healthiness inspires me. Aaron is different than every other man I've ever met,” the Newsroom alum gushed to Good Housekeeping about Rodgers in 2015. “There's so much I could say. Everything a good person can be, he is. He's in such great shape, and especially lately, he's been eating so well and working out. Having somebody in your life like that is so motivating." After three years together, Rodgers and Munn called it quits in 2017. The NFL player was briefly linked to model Kelly Rohrbach before Us Weekly confirmed he was dating Danica Patrick. During an October 2018 interview, Rodgers spoke publicly about their romance after keeping mum about his other loves in the past. “I have been so private for so long. I believe that you should be able to have some private life that’s not out there all the time. I have been private for so long, and when you are that private, it can isolate you a bit,” he told Artful Living at the time. “When you just let go and don’t worry about it as much, you’re actually practicing that indifference all the time. Then any type of response, positive or negative, to one of my posts or one of Danica’s posts that I’m in doesn’t bother me.” [jwplayer zPq1MHB5-zhNYySv2] News broke in July 2020 that Rodgers and Patrick were no longer together. While Us confirmed in February 2021 that he was dating Shailene Woodley, reports revealed that the twosome had been quietly dating for several months before he announced he was engaged. “2020 was definitely a crazy year filled with lots of change, growth, some amazing, memorable moments, 180 straight days of having my nose hair scraped, playing for very little fans or no stands the entire season,” Rodgers began while accepting the 2020 AP Most Valuable Player during the NFL Honors awards before thanking his “fiancée” in February 2021. He continued: “I got engaged and I played some of the best football in my career. So I’d like to thank, first and foremost, my teammates for their support, their inspiration, protection, incredible play on the field. … Off the field, I’ve got a great group of people that support me, so I’d like to thank my team.” One year later, Us confirmed that the four-time NFL MVP and the Big Little Lies alum split. “Shailene has been super busy with work,” a source exclusively told Us in February 2022, noting that Rodgers is always “focused” on football. “Everything was so different during lockdown, and they had been living in their bubble.” Scroll through for Rodgers quotes about love and his exes: [podcast_block]

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On His Sexuality

Rodgers addressed “crazy” internet rumors about his sexuality during an interview with a Wisconsin radio show in 2013.

“There isn’t a whole lot of separation from your public and private life. You always have to be on at times. Occasionally people will get upset if you say ‘no’ to a picture when you’re eating dinner or something. That’s kind of the hard part. Or if you get crazy rumors that swirl around you from time to time that are just silly,” he said. “I’m just gonna say I’m not gay. I really, really like women. That’s all I can say about that.”

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On Olivia Munn Split

“When you are living out a relationship in the public eye, it's definitely … it's difficult," Rodgers told ESPN Magazine in 2017 after his split from Munn. ”It has some extra constraints because you have other opinions about your relationship, how it affects your work and, you know, just some inappropriate connections."

When asked about fans comparing his football performance to his love life, Rodgers added, “They're such misogynists, right?"

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On Navigating Public Relationships

"I think there should be a separation between your public life and your personal life,” he said during the 2017 magazine interview. "I've just always felt like there should be a time when you don't have to be on."

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On Why He Spoke Publicly About Danica Romance

The athlete changed his tune about discussing his love life when he started seeing Patrick in 2018.

“It’s more normal. In the right settings, it’s normal,” he told Artful Living in October 2018 about him and the NASCAR driver not shying away from discussing their romance. “There’s still the right time and right place, but I don’t feel like I have to be reserved all the time. We’re just two people who enjoy being around each other and love each other. We’re really into each other. So there are going to be posts with each other because we enjoy each other’s company a lot. We’re really attracted to each other.”

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On What He Loved About Danica

“She’s spontaneous. She’s up for anything travel-wise, which is fun. She’s a good travel partner because she’s so laid-back and low-maintenance,” he said about Patrick. “And she’s a hell of a cook, so we love just staying in, too. She eats really healthy. She’s inspired me in that way.”

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On His New Outlook on Love

Rodgers was first linked to Woodley during the summer of 2020. That September, he gushed about his new outlook on life.

“I have just a new and increased love of life. And I’ve made decisions and changes and habits that put me in a lot better headspace and there’s just a lot of things that have come together in my life over the last few months that have really been enjoyable and reminded me, given me perspective, on life and in football to view things through the most positive lens I possibly can,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show. “And that’s why I’m having so much fun and it starts with love. And then surrounding yourself with people that you really enjoy.”

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Engagement Bliss

“I’m recently engaged, so been enjoying that part of my life,” Rodgers said during a March 2021 Instagram Live interview with Zenith Watches’ CEO Julien Tornare.

He noted that “there’s been a lot of good” in his life as of late, but his engagement to Woodley, was the most recent highlight. “Obviously that’s the best thing that’s happened to me in the last year,” the athlete added.

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Ready for Fatherhood

One month after confirming announcing his and Woodley’s engagement, the California native revealed he’s ready to be a dad sooner rather than later. “I’m in that age group where a lot of my close friends from high school and college are fathers now and have families of their own,” Rodgers said during a March 2021 Instagram Live with Tornare. “It’s maybe not in the immediate future but definitely something that I really look forward to.”

The NFL star continued: “I’ve done a pretty good job at taking care of myself for the last 37 years and look forward to taking care of another life at some point too. I just think it’s going to be so fun.”

He added that fatherhood will be his “next great challenge” and something he’s “always dreamt about.” Rodgers explained that he’s not in a rush but is “really excited about that chapter whenever that comes.”

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Work-Life Balance

The professional athlete told Haute Living in November 2021 that he wasn’t worried about being away from his then-fiancée, Woodley, during the NFL season.

“It’s a busy work time for her, so [my decision to keep playing in Wisconsin] probably came at a good time for both of us to be able to focus on our work,” Rodgers told the outlet. “I think it’s going to be a good thing. I mean, her work was shut down for an entire year [during the coronavirus pandemic], and she’s booked a number of projects. She enjoys working and her own routine, which I obviously enjoy, too.”