In a Monday interview, former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick reflected on her high-profile breakup with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Patrick said that while her “heart got broken,” she has also experienced more joy since the breakup. Patrick’s comments came on the April 12 episode of “Running Wild With Bear Grylls” from National Geographic. And they follow the news that Rodgers got engaged sometime late last year to actress Shailene Woodley.
Neither Patrick nor Rodgers has discussed the breakup publicly. But each has commented on it obliquely. Rodgers said last September (following the celebrities’ summer breakup) that he had “a new and increased love of life.”
“I’ve made decisions and changes and habits that put me in a lot better head space,” Rodgers told the Pat McAfee Show.
Danica Patrick Experienced ‘Heartbreak’ With Rodgers Breakup
“I think we learn the most about ourselves through relationships, but there’s nothing like heartbreak to really throw you in the deep end of that,” Patrick told Grylls, according to Us Weekly. “But I’ve learned a lot and as broken open as I was on the sad end, I have felt so much joy in so many more instances and so many more unlikely places than I ever have. So it’s like my heart got broken open to both ends of the spectrum.”
While they were together, Patrick had reportedly helped Rodgers to repair his relationships with family members, including his brother Jordan. Rodgers apparently hadn’t spoken to his family since December of 2014. His family members confirmed the feud to various media outlets. But Rodgers once said he’s “always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters.”
At any rate, they all had been on speaking terms again with Patrick’s cajoling. But now? “Who knows what’s going on,” a source told Us Weekly.
Patrick Has Recovered from Breakups Before And Will Again
This is not Danica Patrick’s first major breakup, however. She was married to Paul Edward Hospenthal, a physical therapist and trainer, from 2006 to 2013. And she was in a relationship with fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for five years before she got together with Rodgers.
As for what comes next, Patrick said in March that dating Rodgers helped her figure out what she doesn’t want.
“When you know what you don’t want, you know what you do want,” Patrick explained, according to Us Weekly. “It’s not as though there are boxes to check, it’s just that I know what I want now and I’m not willing to compromise [or] bend as much.”
Patrick has also said that her next boyfriend will have his work cut out for him. Looks like she has drawn a few lessons from her heartbreaking experience.
