Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated that his "biggest regret" stems from not proposing to his wife, Brittani, in 2017, a decision he believes led to him being emotionally unavailable for seven to eight years. Rodgers shared these sentiments during an appearance on the "Not just Football" podcast.
Rodgers met Brittani in 2017 while she was living in Austin, Texas, and preparing to move to Europe. He described their meeting as impactful, noting a personal connection to the University of Texas, where his grandfather had also attended. Despite Brittani returning to Europe, they maintained contact.
He recounted that after this pivotal meeting, he focused intensely on football, acknowledging he gained much from it but felt he missed a significant personal connection. "I knew I was supposed to be with this one person and I couldn’t; we were separated by an ocean for a lot of it," Rodgers said.
Rodgers' relationships with actress Shailene Woodley and former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick occurred after his initial connection with Brittani. He became engaged to Woodley in December 2020, though they later separated, and he had also dated Patrick prior to this. Rodgers indicated he was "emotionally unavailable" during his relationships with Patrick and Woodley, citing their public remarks about him following their breakups.
He clarified that Brittani had become engaged to someone else before he proposed to Woodley, and both he and Brittani later separated from their respective fiancés. Rodgers mentioned that Woodley removed her engagement ring within three months of their engagement.
Rodgers publicly confirmed his marriage to Brittani during his first season with the Steelers, though details about their relationship and Brittani's identity have been kept private. He described their marriage as an elopement that occurred "a couple months" prior to him addressing rumors about a wedding ring he wore last June. He offered minimal detail about the elopement, stating only that he had a surprise arranged for her.
There are no public photographs of Rodgers and Brittani. It remains uncertain if she will attend his games before he retires at the conclusion of the current season. The Steelers are scheduled to begin their season at home against Atlanta on Sunday.