Former race car driver Danica Patrick described her past relationship with NFL free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers as "emotionally abusive," claiming it wore her "down to nothing" during an appearance on the Sage Steele Show Wednesday (May 21).
“People could never imagine that I would lack … any confidence or belief in the simple things about who I am,” Patrick said. “Everything was torn to bits.”
"Yeah, he leaves a trail of blood,” she added of Rodgers.
Patrick, who dated Rodgers from 2018 to 2020, said she didn't think her comments were "earth-shattering stuff" because there's already "enough out there."
“I ignored it, but in real life, it was just like … I would say all the time, ‘I’m built for hard things. I can handle hard things,’ and so I just saw it as a hard thing,” she said. “And my nature is to try harder and do more.”
Last December, actress Shailene Woodley, who dated Rodgers after Patrick and was previously engaged to the quarterback before calling off their engagement in February 2022, publicly described their relationship as on "toxic" during an interview with with Outside editor Melissa Johnson.
“I haven’t shared much about my relationship with Aaron because it always makes me cry,” Woodley said, with Johnson noting that her eyes watered up during the interview. "But it was beautiful.”
“I had a really awful, traumatic thing happen in early 2022,” Woodley said, though not providing specific details. “I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy. I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment.”
Rodgers, who spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets after 18 with the Green Bay Packers, remains a free agent amid speculation that he could sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 41-year-old suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during his first drive with the Jets in 2023 and experienced one of the worst seasons of his career in 2024, leading the team to a 5-12 record.