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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Shailene Woodley has hinted at what caused the end of her engagement to NFL player Aaron Rodgers.
The Big Little Lies star, 32, revealed how her outlook on love has changed since she called it quits with the controversial football player in 2022. “I give all of myself,” Woodley told Bustle in an interview published on September 9.
“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,” she explained.
The Divergent actor also admitted that she no longer cares about what others think after experiencing “a broken heart” of her own. “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,” Woodley said.
She explained that it has taken her “a lot of time to understand” that she isn’t solely responsible for fixing a relationship and instead, her main priority is to “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,” she added.
While the Fault in Our Stars actor confessed that she doesn’t have certain “expectations” for her life, she did express her desire to become a mother and described what she envisions in a future partner. “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,” Woodley said.
“But I don’t have a ‘that should have happened by now’ kind of thing,” she added. “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.’”
Woodley reportedly ended her relationship with the 40-year-old quarterback in early 2022 after two years together. According to InTouch, a source claimed that the actor was concerned Rodgers’ football career was coming “first” before their engagement. “While Shailene is supportive of Aaron’s career, he put football first and they were barely spending any time together,” they said. “She felt he neglected their relationship. Neither of them was happy.”
However, an insider told People that Woodley and Rodgers remained friends after their breakup. “It was an amicable split; it just wasn’t working,” they said. “They’re very different people with busy careers and there were obstacles that they couldn’t surmount.”
“They will remain friendly; there’s no bad blood and no drama. It just didn’t work out for them,” they added.
Woodley confirmed she was engaged to Rodgers during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2021. “Yes, we are engaged,” she said at the time. “We are engaged. But for us, it’s not new news, you know, so it’s kind of funny. Everybody right now is freaking out over it and we’re like: ‘Yeah, we’ve been engaged for a while.’”
Throughout their relationship, Woodley defended Rodgers for refusing to get vaccinated following the Covid-19 pandemic. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback caused a massive stir in 2021 when he was sidelined for a week-and-a-half due to a positive Covid test. After it was revealed he was unvaccinated, Rodgers railed against “cancel culture” and the “woke mob” during an appearance on a radio show in November 2021.
His ex-fiancé responded to the criticism when she posted a series of photos that alleged Rodgers broke quarantine rules when he was supposed to be in isolation. “Literally y’all need to calm the f*** down. This is straight up hilarious,” she wrote on Instagram. “News outlets still grasping at straws to disparage Aaron. Finding random f****** men on the streets of LA and saying it’s him.”
The NFL star later apologized to Woodley for the backlash she received after he came out against the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Thanks for letting me chase after you the first couple months after we met, and finally letting me catch up to you and be a part of your life,” he posted on Instagram, adding: “Thanks for always having my back, for the incredible kindness you show me and everyone you meet, and for showing me what unconditional love looks like, I love you and am grateful for you.”
