Brit + Co Logo

Someone give this girl a hug! 😭❤️

Shailene Woodley Made Rare Comments About Aaron Rodgers Breakup: “It Always Makes Me Cry”

shailene woodley aaron rodgers
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for STARZ & Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Shailene Woodley is notoriously pretty private — so it was truly shocking when she opened up about her split from Aaron Rodgers during an interview with Outside magazine. The former celebrity couple broke up in February 2022, ending their nearly two year relationship and calling off an engagement. Now, she's sharing what the decline of that relationship meant to her — and how it still impacts her to this day. Here's what she had to say.


Scroll on to find out what Shailene Woodley finally said about her split from Aaron Rodgers.

shailene woodley

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for STARZ

Though much of the interview surrounded Shailene's passion for environmental protection and preservation, but she made it clear that she approaches the people in her life the same way she approaches her passions — with great tenderness and care. It's part of why she actually hasn't talked about Aaron much since their breakup. She said, “I haven’t shared much about my relationship with Aaron because it always makes me cry. It was not right. But it was beautiful.”

That was her only direct mention of the NFL star, but it wasn't the only time she addressed the relationship. Shailene explained that she "had a really awful, traumatic thing happen in early 2022" — AKA around when she and Aaron ended their engagement. When talking about that time, she said, “I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy. I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment.”

She apparently remained in what she referred to as a "toxic situation" while she held space and empathized with "someone else." She said, “Empathy kind of kept me in this loop of feeling everything for everyone.”

According to Shailene, she relied heavily on her best friend Kris Zero to get out of her depression by blaring music, taking her surfing, cleaning up hike trails, etc. She said, “I knew I was depressed when I looked at a tree and felt nothing. That was the lowest low of my life.”

And though it's been almost three years since the split, it's clear the repercussions still reverberate throughout her life. The author of the article noted that Shailene teared up when bringing Aaron up by name — but one moment really stood out throughout the entire article. As the Outside crew prepped for the forthcoming photoshoot, Shailene chatted with everyone around her. After previously "coo’ing" over a photo of the writer’s daughter during their conversation, the Big Little Liesactress quietly said, “One of my biggest dreams is to be a mom.”

Sending big hugs to this scorpio sun, pisces moon, and cancer rising!

Looking for more celebrity news? Be sure to follow us on Facebook so you never miss a thing!

Selfmade

Selfmade

A business accelerator for early-stage female founders with live workshops, 1:1 mentoring, online courses, and curated business support. Visit

Yap City

Yap City

Want the inside scoop on what’s really trending? Join insider hosts Chloe Williams and Kayla Walden each week as they dissect their latest TV & movie obsessions, must-read books, and OMG moments you won’t believe. Visit