Friends of actress Shailene Woodley have reportedly expressed alarm and disputed claims made by her ex-fiancé, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, regarding the end of their relationship. Rodgers recently stated on the "Not Just Football" podcast that Woodley had asked to "go f*** another man" before their engagement ended.
Rodgers, 42, proposed to Woodley, 34, in December 2021. Their relationship, which began in late 2020, concluded just three months later. According to sources close to Woodley, her friends find Rodgers' comments "completely out of character" and question his motives for discussing a relationship he has not spoken about with Woodley in over two years.
"We're questioning why a married dude is bringing up an ex he hasn't spoken with in over 2 years," an insider told TMZ. These sources also suggested that Rodgers is aware of Woodley's private nature and would know she would not welcome public discussion of their past.
During his podcast appearance, Rodgers recounted that Woodley informed him she needed to "to go f*** this guy" before ultimately deciding not to proceed with marriage. He stated that she later communicated she did not want to be with him. Rodgers also mentioned that Woodley took off her engagement ring by March 2022, after his December 2021 proposal, and that attempts at reconciliation in 2021 were unsuccessful. He characterized the narrative that he ruined her life and caused her depression as untrue.
In 2024, Woodley described the breakdown of her relationship with Rodgers as a "traumatic thing." She shared in a 2024 interview that she experienced a period of depression after the event, feeling she had "lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy." Woodley attributed her prolonged involvement in a "toxic situation" to empathy for someone else. She noted that her depression began to lift after six months of engaging in activities with her best friend.
Rodgers also made comments about another former partner, Danica Patrick, alleging she was "depressed" during their relationship and that they experienced "intimacy" issues. Rodgers and Patrick dated from January 2018 until their split in July 2020.