Danica Patrick: Why the Former NASCAR Star and Aaron Rodgers Broke Up

Aaron Rodgers reportedly has a new girlfriend — actress Shailene Woodley. This news comes seven months after the Green Bay Packers quarterback and former NASCAR star Danica Patrick called things off. Rodgers and Patrick were dating for over two years before the split, and many fans began to speculate there was trouble when Patrick stopped following Rodgers on Instagram. This leads to the question of why did they split?

Terez Owens, a sports gossip site, reported in July that Rodgers and Woodley met because of Patrick. Woodley was introduced to Rodgers by Patrick, and things apparently took off from there. The report says: "It seemed like Aaron had found his perfect partner in Danica Patrick. Danica had no idea when she introduced actress Shailene Woodley to Aaron that Shailene would make a play for him. Shailene and Aaron were quite cozy this past weekend in Tahoe. Looks like Aaron traded to a much younger girlfriend. Danica is devastated by Aarons betrayal."

This detail was never confirmed, and neither Rodgers nor Patrick and spoken about the breakup publicly. However, when Patrick was on The Rachel Hollis Show on the now-defunct streaming network Quibi, she talked about what she expects from her next boyfriend.

"The next guy has his work cut out for him because my intuition, my standards, my boundaries, my wants and needs are off the charts," Patrick said in September. "Cause I've gotten to know me so much more. So it's gonna be so much more narrow and specific. And I think that's the challenge with a relationship "And I said this 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.

As for Rodgers, he talked about being in a "better headspace" after the split. "I have just a new and increased love of life," Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show in September. "And I've made decisions and changes and habits that put me in a lot better head space and there's just a lot of things that have come together in my life over the last few months that have really been enjoyable and reminded me, given me perspective, on life and in football to view things through the most positive lens I possibly can. And that's why I'm having so much fun and it starts with love."