Former IndyCar/NASCAR driver and current motorsports broadcaster Danica Patrick is speaking out about her two-year relationship with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers that ended in 2020.
Patrick, who spent Sunday working on Fox’s inaugural broadcast of the Indianapolis 500, recently appeared on The Sage Steele Show hosted by the former SportsCenter anchor. Midway through the interview, Steele asked Patrick, “What’s the most amount of pain you’ve experienced?”
“The breakup with Aaron in 2020,” the former driver replied.
“It was sudden,” Patrick continued. “It felt like, it was my life. So like, you know, when you live with somebody and, you know, like, it’s your whole life. It’s your dentist appointment, it’s your hairdo, it’s your clothes, it’s your mailing address. It’s like, everything. And because the nature of the relationship was emotionally abusive, so that wore me down to nothing.
“People could never imagine that I would lack in confidence or belief in the simple things about who I am,” she told Steele. “Yeah, everything was torn to bits. And yeah, he leaves a trail of blood. I don’t think, uh, I don’t think, um, I don’t think I’m saying too much earth-shattering stuff. There’s been enough out there.”
Despite seeing the red flags, Patrick explained why she stayed in the relationship for too long.
“I ignored it, but in real life, it was just like … I would say all the time, ‘I’m built for hard things. I can handle hard things,’ and so I just saw it as a hard thing,” she said. “And my nature is to try harder and do more.”
Since their breakup in 2020, Rodgers has become quite the media sensation. Between his frequent appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, and now, his will-he won’t-he regarding playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rodgers’ name has remained in the headlines.
Patrick has kept a lower profile, focusing on her broadcasting career across multiple networks and properties.