The Truth About Aaron Rodgers' Relationship With Shailene Woodley

After months of gossip and speculation, actress Shailene Woodley finally admitted that she is engaged to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Feb. 22, the actress confirmed that she was engaged to the NFL star — and had been for quite some time. "We are engaged," Woodley said. "But for us, it's not new news. So it's kind of funny everybody right now is freaking out over it, and we're like, 'Yeah, we've been engaged for a while,'" (via the Green Bay Press Gazette).

Despite appearing very much in love with Rodgers, Woodley admitted that she had never imagined herself getting engaged to someone who "threw balls for a living." This fact is backed up with another stunning confession that Woodley made during her Tonight Show interview: Woodley has never been to a football game. While many of her friends were boasting about her new beau's skills on the field, Woodley still struggled to comprehend Rodgers' star status. However, her dog seems to be a bit more appreciative of Rodgers' ball-handling skills (per The Los Angeles Times). 

"When I first met him [Rodgers], my dog pulled me aside and was like, 'If you don't date this dude, I will disown you as my mother, because the three feet that I run with you when you throw a ball is nothing compared to the marathon I'm able to run with him,'" Woodley told Fallon.

In July of 2020, retired professional racecar driver Danica Patrick admitted that her two-year relationship with Aaron Rodgers was over (via Page Six). Insiders close to the couple admit that Rodgers and Woodley began dating only a few weeks after the NFL star split from Patrick. "It was so fast that at first, we thought she was just a rebound," a source close to Rodgers told People. "There was no way this could be so serious. Everyone thought it was a casual thing because that's what he was telling everyone, even when it was clearly not a casual thing."

Though the reason behind the Patrick-Rodgers breakup has yet to be publicly announced, one anonymous tipster told sports blogger Terez Owens that Patrick was actually the one to introduce the newly engaged pair to one another just a few weeks before the alleged breakup occurred (via Terez Owens). "It seemed like Aaron had found his perfect partner in Danica Patrick," the anonymous tipster said. "Danica had no idea when she introduced actress Shailene Woodley to Aaron that Shailene would make a play for him."

In early February, while accepting the MVP award at an NFL Honors event, Aaron Rodgers announced that he was engaged — though he failed to mention the lucky lady on the other side of the engagement. "It's an honor to win this award for the third time," Rodgers said in his speech, per People. "2020 was definitely a crazy year filled with lots of change and 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. I got engaged."

Prior to announcing his engagement, a source close to Rodgers told People that the couple's impending nuptials cemented the seriousness of his feelings for Woodley. "Now we realize that it was clearly a lot more serious than they told anyone," the source told the outlet. "All this goes to show that this must be a very special relationship for him and for her. So everyone wishes them happiness."

Now that the couple is busy planning their wedding, Shailene Woodley is ready to enter the next phase of their relationship: meeting the parents. However, Rodgers' strained relationship with his family might stop this meeting from ever taking place, according to an insider close to the quarterback. "It's no secret that Aaron's been estranged from them for years," the source told OK!. "The last thing he wants is for Shailene to get caught up in the drama. She wants Aaron to clear the air with his folks, but he's not ready to do that, and he doesn't want to bring Shailene into a toxic environment."

This hesitancy likely stems from the publicized rift that sources close to the family say exists as a result of the family's distrust of Rodgers' ex-girlfriend, Olivia Munn, whom he dated for three years before they called it quits in 2017 (via Us Weekly).

Family drama aside, the love between Woodley and Rodgers seems to be the real deal.