Aaron Rodgers Confirms What We Suspected About His Brother Jordan (Plug Your Ears, JoJo)

Aaron Rodgers offered rare insight into his feud with brother Jordan Rodgers on his Netflix docu-series "Aaron Rodgers: Enigma." For a refresher: the rift between the Rodgers brothers came to light when Jordan was a contestant on "The Bachelorette" in 2016 — the JoJo Fletcher season. During the season, Jordan brought Fletcher on a date to his family's home. His parents were present, and so was his other brother, Luke Rodgers, but Aaron was nowhere to be found. The NFL quarterback's absence was driven home by TV cameras that captured two empty seats as the Rodgers family sat down for dinner, which were presumably set aside for Aaron and his partner. Eight years after that episode aired, Aaron made his feelings known.

Speaking to Netflix, Aaron spoke about how his family's behavior caused a further rift. "I thought the best way to do it was just don't talk about it publicly," the New York Jets star said about the tension with his brother. "They go on a bulls*** show and leave two empty chairs," he said. "[A] stupid dating show that my brother just went on to get famous — his words, not mine," Aaron said, adding that he was not invited to that family dinner.

Aaron's biographer, Ian O'Conner, reiterated the athlete's frustration. "Aaron was irritated by his family's decision to film that scene, empty chairs and all," O'Conner wrote in his book "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers." 

Originally, when "The Bachelorette" episode of Jordan Rodgers visiting his family with JoJo Fletcher had aired, Aaron Rodgers did his best to downplay it. During his training camp with the Green Bay Packers, reporters asked him to comment on the reality series. "I haven't seen the show, to be honest with you," Aaron told WISN in July 2016. "I'm not going to speak on those things, but I wish him well in the competition," he diplomatically added. Further details from that summer later emerged and showed that Aaron was more bothered by his brother's reality show stint than he initially let on.

According to Craig Rigsbee, a friend of Aaron's, the athlete had an uncomfortable run-in with a fan at a celebrity golf tournament who mentioned Jordan in the summer of 2016. "And someone goes, 'Hey, are you Jordan Rodgers' brother?'" Rigsbee told Ian O'Conner. "F***ing [Aaron] looked over there and he was legitimately pissed off and shook his head," he added.

Despite that past friction, Aaron and Jordan seemingly took a big step in repairing their relationship in January 2022. A source told People the two "started talking a little bit." Unfortunately, the brothers were not able to fully mend their relationship, as Aaron elected to skip Jordan's wedding to Fletcher later that year. "Aaron missed out on his big day and that's something Jordan's never going to forget," a source told Us Weekly in May 2022.