Two years later, Shailene Woodley is finally spilling tea on why she broke up with Aaron Rodgers!
While chatting with Bustle on Monday to promote her new show Three Women — which was filmed right after she and the NFL player called off their engagement in 2022 — the actress claimed her “broken heart” helped her navigate this project differently than others. Huh.
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When asked about why she stopped “caring so much about performing for others,” The Fault in Our Stars alum explained:
“Just a broken heart. A broken heart that healed and broke again. I fell in love over and over with unavailability. I’m very open as a human. I love easy and I care easy, but I do not love lightly, and I do not care lightly.”
Oof. Is she saying Aaron was never really available to her?? That’s rough!
Shailene went on to say she realized she couldn’t “fix” this unnamed partner (who surely has to be him, based on the timeline), adding:
“It’s really taken me a lot of time to understand that it’s not on me to fix or heal or do anything about [a relationship] other than protect the deep care and love that I have for the world and for my people. Ultimately, that has helped me walk away without the need to understand why certain things didn’t play out the way that I may have desired them to.”
That’s really healthy! If something isn’t working, but one partner isn’t going to bother doing the work, it’s totally unfair to expect her to do it all.
Shailene also stressed that she’s “not interested” in people who “cross” or disrespect” her, elaborating:
“I give all of myself. I used to be a person who, if you crossed me and disrespected that, would continue to give and give. And now you cross me, I respectfully go, ‘Thank you so much for that information. Have a beautiful life. I wish you well.’ Not interested.”
Damn!
Kinda sounds like the footballer might’ve crossed the line in a big way! Uh-oh!
They started dating in 2020 but broke things off in February 2022. In January 2023, the 32-year-old called the split the “darkest, hardest time of [her] life.” She was filming the show in New York during the winter which added to the tough time, as she noted to Bustle:
“My personal life was s**tty, so it felt like a big pain bubble for eight months. […] I was so grateful that at least I could go to work and cry and process my emotions through my character.”
Back in 2022, E! News sources told the outlet that the couple — who reportedly didn’t see eye to eye on their careers or interests in life — tried to make things work after their initial split, but it was pointless:
“Shailene tried to give it another shot and was spending time with Aaron. But she quickly saw that everything was on his terms and nothing was going to change. There was no reason to continue and she’s done with it again.”
Pretty similar to what she’s hinting at now! Bummer! But at least she figured out this wasn’t what she wanted in a relationship before they tied the knot — and she’s more determined to get her happily ever after now! Reflecting on where she is in life after sacking the QB, she told Bustle:
“I don’t think I ever really had expectations of life. I still don’t. I want to be a mom. My God, I want to cook someone dinner every night and travel the world with them and have pillow talk and celebrate their joys and their purpose and their destinies and have mine also be celebrated. But I don’t have a ‘that should have happened by now’ kind of thing. Maybe the physical discomfort I walked through when I was younger taught me not to have expectations. [Woodley has said she experienced an unspecified health scare in her early 20s.] I wake up every day and I say out loud, ‘I’m so excited for the magic and miracles that are going to happen today.'”
Such a good place to be in! Too bad things didn’t work out with Aaron, but we’re glad she didn’t settle!
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[Image via MEGA/WENN & Aaron Rodgers/Instagram & British Vogue/YouTube]
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