What Danica Patrick Has Said About Her Split With Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers has been the subject of many headlines over the years due to his colorful dating history and high-profile relationships. There's Olivia Munn, whom the Green Bay Packers quarterback dated from 2014 to 2017. Then, it was Shailene Woodley, who almost became his wife — the couple called off their engagement early this year, per inTouch. Currently, Rodgers is believed to be in a relationship with Flourescence founder and Woodley look-alike, Blu, who has since clarified on social media that, no, she does not identify as a witch. "Ya'll are hilarious!" she quipped.

Of course, no one can ever forget that Rodger also dated former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick. Rodger and Patrick first met at the ESPY Awards in 2012, although it wasn't until 2018 that the two started dating. They made their public debut as a couple at the Daytona 500, and continued to pack on the PDA at the ESPY Awards in 2018. Per People, the pair lasted for more than two years before a representative for Patrick confirmed their split in 2020.

Since then, both the NFL star and the race car driver have remained pretty mum about their relationship. That is, until recently, when Patrick finally broke her silence.

Danica Patrick seemingly admitted that she was devastated over her breakup from NFL star Aaron Rodgers. The retired race car driver spoke openly about her heartbreak in an episode of the National Geographic series "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" that aired in 2021. Without mentioning Rodger's name, Patrick said, per People, "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." She added, however, that as much as she was hurt by the breakup, she has learned a lot about herself from the experience. "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," she said. "So it's like my heart got broken open to both ends of the spectrum."

While Patrick and Rodgers never disclosed the reason for their breakup, theirs seemed to be a case of simply falling out of love and growing apart, as is common in many relationships. Appearing on "The Rachel Hollis Show" in 2020, the "Pretty Intense" podcast host said, via Life & Style, "At the beginning of the last relationship. I was like, 'Look. You either grow together; one grows and one doesn't or you grow apart. I have never experienced growth without pain.'"

While there's no denying the impact their relationship had on her, Danica Patrick has since moved on from her ex-boyfriend Aaron Rodgers. Amid reports of Rodger's engagement with actor Shailene Woodley in February 2021, a source close to Patrick told Hollywood Life that the latter was done grieving for her former lover. "Danica is a tremendously tough woman, and dealing with Aaron is not a part of her future," the source said. "So she has decided to avoid thinking about him. She is letting the past be the past."

In fact, it took less than a year before the former NASCAR driver threw herself back into the dating scene and eventually found new love with Freshly co-founder Caster Comstock. Per Us Weekly, Patrick confirmed her relationship with Comstock via a social media post in May 2021, sharing a sweet snap of the pair locking lips while out on a run. According to the outlet, Patrick and Comstock were set up by cofounders of a wellness brand that both of them are investing in. 

"They took their relationship slow for four months and decided to be exclusive in April," a source told Us Weekly. "She's very happy." Their relationship turned out to be short-lived, though, with Patrick confirming their split to People last March. "We were together for a while, and unfortunately it didn't work," she said, adding, "It doesn't mean that there's something wrong with either of us. It's just a matter of finding someone who you can stand the test of time with."