Aaron Rodgers is publicly disputing Danica Patrick’s version of their breakup, saying the former couple had lost their intimacy and that she should not have been surprised when the relationship ended.
“She tells a story that she was so blindsided,” Rodgers said during an interview with Steelers teammate Cam Heyward. “And I’m like, what are you talking about? That’s not what happened.”
Rodgers said Patrick was struggling after retiring from racing when they were together.
“She was depressed and not fun to be around,” he said. “But I didn’t leave her because I was trying to be there and be a good partner.” He also claimed that another ex, Shailene Woodley, told him that she wanted to sleep with another man ahead of their marriage, telling him she needed to “go f–K this guy.”
Aaron Rodgers claims his ex-fiancée Shailene Woodley requested permission to sleep with another man shortly after his proposal.
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) September 10, 2026
“Before we get married I have to go f*ck this guy.”
CREDIT: Not Just Football with Cam Heyward pic.twitter.com/d02tFepRQX
The quarterback added that their relationship eventually became deeply disconnected.
“There was no intimacy; there was nothing,” he added.
Rodgers and Patrick dated from 2018 until 2020. Patrick has previously described their breakup as “sudden” and called the relationship “emotionally abusive,” telling Sage Steele that it “wore me down to nothing.”
Rodgers remembers things differently.
He said Patrick once asked whether he wanted to buy a Malibu house with her. When he said no, Rodgers claimed she immediately understood the relationship was in trouble.
Heartbreaking: Aaron Rodgers's ex-girlfriend Danica Patrick says her relationship with Rodgers was emotionally abusive and left a trail of blood:
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 25, 2025
"It was sudden, and the nature of the relationship was emotionally abusive."
Danica calls it the most painful experience of her… pic.twitter.com/0WbN6K6o6k
“She said, ‘You know what that means then?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the way things are going,’” Rodgers recalled.
The pair tried counseling afterward, he said, before the pandemic left them living together during an already difficult stretch. “Then COVID hits and we’re stuck together,” Rodgers said.