Aaron Rodgers says his biggest relationship regret came before his headline-making romances with Danica Patrick and Shailene Woodley. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback says he met his now-wife Brittani in 2017, but distance kept them apart when she left the United States for Europe. Rodgers now believes he should have asked her to stay or proposed before that separation. Instead, he poured himself into football and later dated Patrick before becoming engaged to Woodley. The revelations offer a different look at the years before Rodgers eventually reunited with Brittani and married her.
Why does Aaron Rodgers regret not proposing to Brittani in 2017?
Aaron Rodgers says the missed opportunity happened when Brittani was preparing to leave the United States for Europe. Looking back, he believes he should have acted instead of accepting the distance.
“At the time, she was leaving the States and going back to Europe. My biggest regret is not begging her to stay or just like proposing right there,” Rodgers said.
He described himself as “emotionally available” after Brittani left and said the separation sent him into a “tailspin.” More importantly, Rodgers believes he already knew where the relationship was headed.
“I’d met the person that changed my life,” Rodgers said. “After that, I just poured everything I had into football. I think I got a lot out of that, for sure, but I knew I was supposed to be with this one person and I couldn’t. We were separated by an ocean for a lot of it.”
That decision became significant as Rodgers entered two very public relationships in the years that followed.
What happened between Aaron Rodgers, Danica Patrick and Shailene Woodley?
Aaron Rodgers began dating Danica Patrick publicly in January 2018, shortly after Brittani had left for Europe. They remained together for more than two years before announcing their split in July 2020. Rodgers said their relationship eventually lost its intimacy, although he stayed because he wanted to support Patrick during a difficult period following her retirement.
“She had just retired. She was depressed,” Rodgers said. “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.”
The pair tried couples therapy, but Rodgers said there was ultimately “nothing there.”
Less than a year after the breakup, Rodgers and Shailene Woodley announced their engagement. Rodgers now disputes parts of the public account of their split, saying the relationship deteriorated after it became public. He claimed Woodley removed her engagement ring only months after his proposal and that attempts to reunite later failed.
Rodgers eventually reconciled with Brittani. The couple privately married, with Rodgers confirming the marriage in 2025. His latest comments make clear that, despite the relationships that followed, he still views that missed proposal in 2017 as the decision he wishes he had handled differently.