Learning from love. Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick appeared to be a perfect match ahead of their 2020 split.
Us Weekly confirmed in January 2018 that the Green Bay Packers player and the Wisconsin native were dating after they were spotted together in the midwest one month prior. Before sparking their romance, the pair met at the 2012 ESPY Awards.
“It was quick,” Patrick recalled of their initial interaction during a May 2018 interview on The Jenny McCarthy Show. “I got his email address, and I remember thinking to myself back then, like, ‘Oh, on the down low. Not a phone number, just an email address. Which is whatever.’”
She and Rodgers kept in touch every so often, but their communication wasn’t consistent. “It wasn’t until, obviously, recently that we actually had [each other’s] phone numbers,” the NASCAR champ added. “We referred to each other as Chicago and Green Bay, it was very cute.”
Five months later, the NFL MVP gave fans an inside look at his relationship with Patrick. “We’re really attracted to each other,” he told Artful Living in October 2018. “We really enjoy traveling. … She’s a good travel partner because she’s so laid-back and low-maintenance. And she’s a hell of a cook, so we love just staying in, too. She eats really healthy. She’s inspired me in that way.”
Rodgers, who previously dated Olivia Munn from 2014 to 2017, explained that he’d grown more comfortable putting his love life in the spotlight. “I believe that you should be able to have some private life that’s not out there all the time. I have been private for so long, and when you are private, it can isolate you a bit,” he told the outlet. “When you just let go and don’t worry about it as much, you’re actually practicing that indifference all the time. Then any type of response, positive or negative, to one of my posts or one of Danica’s posts that I’m in doesn’t bother me.”
The pair’s romance continued to heat up until July 2020, when fans noticed Patrick had unfollowed the Super Bowl XLV winner on social media. Us confirmed that month that the twosome had called it quits.
Rodgers was later linked to Shailene Woodley, announcing their whirlwind engagement in early 2021. The University of California, Berkley, alum and the Big Little Lies actress split the following year. Patrick, for her part, dated businessman Carter Comstock from April 2021 to March 2022.
Following their breakup, both Rodgers and the “Pretty Intense” podcast host continued to open up about their relationship, noting that they each learned a lot from their time together. “You know, the idea that you’re going to change someone is a pipe dream. Like, it’s just … someone has to want to change for themselves,” Patrick exclusively told Us in September 2021, adding that “knowing yourself” on a deep level makes for stronger relationships. “[It’s about] finding someone that has that kind of quality … and that also fits you in so many ways. That’s the other part is, you know, you’ve got to like doing everything together.”
Scroll down for a look back at the former couple’s ups and downs:
