“I Really Understood Depression and Anxiety”: Shailene Woodley Speaks Up Almost Two Years After Her Split With Aaron Rodgers

Most football fans remember Aaron Rodgers and his former fiancée, Shailene Woodley. Known for her lead roles in hit movies like Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars, Woodley revealed she was dating the NFL star in February 2021. The couple, soon after, announced their engagement. However, the two called it off after Rodgers won his fourth MVP, an event that emotionally left the actress scarred.

Woodley recently sat down with Outside during a camping trip to discuss life in general and eventually touch on the end of her relationship with Rodgers, although she never directly named him.

“I had a really awful, traumatic thing happen in early 2022,” Woodley expressed. “Felt like I lost my soul, myself, my happiness, my joy… I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment.”

Woodley would go on to explain how she chose to remain in the situation. She blamed empathy for why she did this, as she would always be empathizing with somebody else rather than herself. All of this led to a toxic relationship between her and her partner — the then Packers quarterback.

“I knew I was depressed when I looked at a tree and felt nothing,” she described. “That was the lowest low of my life.”

It was surprising to hear from Woodley. In 2022, when she and Rodgers split, it was originally reported as an “amicable” breakup. Rodgers even shared an Instagram post at the time, thanking Woodley for her unconditional love and kindness. But Woodley’s side of the story is much different.

Woodley is deeply sensitive about the split. She even cried during her interview with Outside when he was mentioned. She explained that she doesn’t bring him up often because it causes her eyes to well up with tears.

The only thing that helped Woodley through the tough breakup was her best friend and stylist, Kris Zero. She would often blast music in the mornings to get Woodley out of bed, which annoyed the actress at first. But she soon appreciated the efforts that her friend made.

“Sometimes I was so angry at her,” Woodley said. “But then we’d go surf, and for ten minutes that day I thought life could be OK again.”

Woodley and Zero would continue this pattern. Woodley would wake up depressed, Zero would suggest a fun environmentally friendly activity to do, and Woodley would feel better. Only for the depression to slowly seep its way back and for Woodley and Zero to start the entire process over the next day. This went on for six months before the depression started to fade.

Today, Rodgers has a new girlfriend, Mallory Edens. Edens is the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wes Edens. On the other hand, Woodley continues the search for her new man. She hasn’t been seen with anyone since the breakup, but the actress has expressed that she hasn’t given up hope.