Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers have a 'non-traditional' relationship. Image Source: People
In April 2020, actress Shailene Woodley, during an interview with Bustle, spoke about her breakup with rugby player Ben Volavola and shared, "I was in a relationship with someone, and we were very much on the road to marriage and children. I realized I was still at an age where I wasn’t able to fully commit. I couldn't be available to him in the way that I wanted to be. I didn’t fully love myself."
In July 2020, it was reported that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick had decided to go their separate ways. Soon, rumors of Shailene and Aaron's being involved in a romantic relationship started to circle as they were spotted together in Tahoe. While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers hinted that there had been some changes in his life without pointing things at the new relationship, but the reports say that he mentioned the things that a happy person in a relationship would say.
Aaron said, "I have just a new and increased love of life and I have made decisions, changes, and habits that put me in a lot better headspace. There are 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 in life and in football, to view things through the most positive lens I possibly can."
In February 2021, a source reported to US Weekly, "Shailene and Aaron started as friends, but things have turned romantic. The two are staying in contact while they are living apart from each other. The relationship is long-distance for right now, but they are making it work." Later, Aaron Rodgers, at the 10th annual CBS ‘NFL Honors’, dropped the news that he had gotten engaged. He said, "2020 was a crazy year filled with lots of change, growth, and some amazing, memorable moments. 180 straight days of having my nose hair scraped, playing for very few fans or no stands the entire season. I got engaged, and I played some of the best football of my career. "
Actress Shailene Woodley appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she confirmed the news as well. She said, "I mean, I’ve been reading that too that I’m engaged to Aaron Rodgers. It’s kind of funny. Yes, we are engaged. We are engaged. But for us, it’s not new news, you know, 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. Yeah, we got engaged a while ago. It’s been—he’s, first off, just a wonderful, incredible human being, but I never thought I’d be engaged to someone who threw balls for a living. I never thought as a little girl, "yeah. I’m going to marry someone who throws balls, yeah!" But he’s just so good at it, and I’m impressed. He can throw fastballs, slow balls, high balls, and low balls. When I first met him, I think 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."
Shailene Woodley also spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and shared, "When we announced that we were engaged, we wanted to do that only because we didn't want someone else to do it before we did. And we didn't do it for months and months after we had become engaged. But the reaction to it was really a lot, and so we were like, 'Let's just politely decline [to talk about the relationship] for a little while and live in our little bubble.'"
In March 2021, Aaron, during an Instagram live interview with Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith Watches, said that getting engaged to the actress was the best thing that happened to him in the last year. The two were spotted in Arkansas, and the source revealed that they looked really happy and were having a great time. Shailene, in April 2021, encouraged her followers to watch Aaron Rodgers' guest host Jeopardy! She took to her Instagram stories and said, "This guy right here is super sexy, super attractive, and super cute. He just shaved his neck this morning and has a little man bun growing. This guy is hosting Jeopardy! Tonight! "
In June 2021, during an interview with Shape, Shailene Woodley revealed that their relationship started with the couple moving in together. She added, "Starting a relationship where you immediately move in with someone—because it’s a pandemic, and you can’t just get on a plane and go back and forth on weekends—taught us a lot about each other very quickly. We jumped in headfirst and got some sticky bits out of the way early. I have the perspective that I would have met Aaron in any context, any space in time because I feel we were meant to be together. "
The couple was also asked about their wedding plans, to which Shailene told Entertainment Tonight that they are enjoying being engaged for the time being and there is no wedding planning happening as of now. On December 2nd, 2021, Aaron Rodgers turned 38-years-old and Shailene Woodley did not appear by his side during the celebrations and skipped the "mandatory social media wish." When the questions were raised, a source close to the couple told People that their relationship was "non-traditional."
The source added, "They have a different, non-traditional relationship. Shailene and Aaron are still together. It's not odd that they don't post about each other on their birthdays in that sense, and are very private about things. " Last month, Aaron Rodgers faced criticism after testing positive for COVID-19, and later it was revealed that the player was unvaccinated despite claiming to be "immunized" back in August. The actress stuck by her man’s side and when the stories of Aaron violating the quarantine came out, she posted on her Instagram stories, "I know Aaron’s body very well. First off, his feet, ahem, and no offense to this random dude, are a LOT bigger. Also, for those of us who know Aaron outside the world of sports-obsessed [stories]...’s no secret he has the hairiest hands on the f—king planet. This oblivious homie, clearly, does not. Literally, you all need to calm the f— down. This is straight-up HILARIOUS. "
