NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers has publicly pushed back against former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, rejecting her past claims that their relationship was emotionally abusive.
Speaking on the Not Just Football podcast with Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Cam Heyward, Rodgers gave his side of their 2020 breakup. The 42-year-old athlete claimed Patrick was “depressed and not fun to be around” after she retired from racing in late 2017, shortly before they began dating.
The couple stayed together for two and a half years between 2018 and 2020, even sharing a $28 million villa in Malibu, California. However, their split led to public disagreement after Patrick spoke about the relationship last year. In that interview, Patrick alleged the relationship was “emotionally abusive,” said it wore her “down to nothing,” and claimed Rodgers left “a trail of blood” when they broke up.
Rodgers strongly denied those accusations during the podcast appearance.
”No one cares what they have to say until they say my name,” Rodgers said. “I dated two women who nobody gives a f–k about unless they drop my name — and they like to say their version of the history of what actually happened.”
”So I’m this monster of a partner and it’s just fing horses*. Number one: Why are you still talking about me? It’s been years,” Rodgers added. “I dated Danica. She had just retired [In November 2017]. She was depressed and not fun to be around. But I didn’t leave her because I was trying to be there and be a good partner. Then it was going a certain direction obviously. There was no intimacy; there was nothing.”
Rodgers also disputed Patrick’s account of how their relationship ended, particularly regarding their Malibu home and claims that she was surprised by the breakup.
”I’m buying a house in Malibu and she goes, ‘Do you want to buy it together?’ And I said no,” Rodgers said. “And she said, ‘You know what that means then?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the way things are going.’ She said, ‘Well, let’s get counseling.’ Then we got counseling. Then COVID hits and we’re stuck together.”
”She tells a story that she was so blindsided and getting left by you, and that he leaves a trail of blood around him. And I’m like, what are you talking about? That’s not what happened by any means,” he added.
During the interview, Rodgers offered personal background about his mindset at the time. He said he first met his current wife, Brittani, in 2017 before he began dating Patrick. When Brittani moved to Europe, Rodgers said his regrets over “not begging [Brittani] to stay or proposing” sent him “right there into a tailspin” during his time with Patrick.
Rodgers married Brittani around early April 2025. He stated that he plans to leave the public eye with her once he retires from the NFL, which is expected after this season.
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