After months of dating and romantic moments at various events, Danica Patrick and Aaron Rodgers walked their first red carpet as a couple at Wednesday night’s 2018 ESPYS.
Before the professional race car driver and NASCAR champ hit the stage for her hosting duties on the ABC broadcast at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, the 36-year-old arrived in a black velvet mini-dress and strappy black heels, with Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, on her arm and sporting a classic black tuxedo.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The two shared a tender moment on the ESPYS red carpet, with photographers capturing Patrick looking up to her 34-year-old boyfriend as the two smiled at one another.
The evening marked the couple’s first official appearance since the two confirmed their romance this past January. But the event was somewhat the site of kismet for the pair, who Patrick told Jenny McCarthy on her SiriusXM radio show that the two actually met for the first time in 2012.
“We both remember meeting each other, it was quick,” she recalled to McCarthy. “But I got his email address and I remember thinking to myself back then, ‘Oh…not a phone number, just an email address.’ Whatever.”
Patrick adds that the two “kept in touch just a little bit,” but there were some years in between that they didn’t talk to each other, just “every now and again.”
“It wasn’t until obviously recently that we actually had phone numbers,” she said. “We referred to each other as ‘Chicago’ and ‘Green Bay.’ It was very cute. Like the Capulets and the Montagues, you know.”
Patrick opened up about that rivalry most playfully on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night, telling the host that though she is now the “biggest Packers fan,” growing up she rooted for the Chicago Bears.
But football is not the only thing the two bond over as Patrick revealed Rodgers loves to drive too and is a “really good driver.”
The pair have shared a lot of quality time together since confirming their relationship in January, including sharing a very public kiss at the Daytona 500, where the NASCAR pro celebrated her 36th birthday.
Most recently showed, the two did not shy away from PDA while at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. They have also enjoyed a few couples trips together, including visiting Mexico, Africa and India, where they met the Dalai Lama.
While viewers did not take too kindly to Patrick as the ESPYS host on Wednesday evening, she did make history by becoming the first woman to host the ESPY Awards.
“My first ESPYS was 2005, and I have been a fan, coming back every year since,” Patrick said in a statement when news broke of her hosting gig. “It is the biggest night of the year for sports. Every year, I leave feeling so inspired! I am excited to be able to help celebrate, laugh and cry about the past year in sports with everyone. It’s going to be a great night and one full of more than a few surprises.”
