Why Shailene Woodley And Aaron Rodgers' Relationship Was So Unexpected
Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers' romance has been pretty up and down ever since the world learned that the actor and football superstar were dating. February 2021 brought the news that the twosome were officially a couple when People's insiders confirmed the big news. But that actually wasn't the most surprising part of their romance. Shortly after that, Rodgers revealed all himself when he confirmed that he and "The Fault In Her Stars" actor were not just dating but were already engaged when he referred to her as his fiancée while accepting the 2020 NFL MVP award, per E! News. Cue gasps the world over.
But sadly, this one wasn't meant to be. Despite going pretty public with their romance as well as splitting and getting back together, things between Woodley and Rodgers seemed to be officially off for good in April. People confirmed they'd gone their separate ways once again, with an insider claiming, "Shailene felt everything was on Aaron's terms and it wasn't making her happy."
But why was this romance so shrouded in such surprise?
Shailene Woodley's romance with Aaron Rodgers happened very quickly
Pre-2021, Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers weren't exactly two famous names you'd put together as a couple. Of course, one is an A-List actor and the other is a world-famous football star, which could spell a perfect Hollywood romance, but those closest to them were mainly shocked by just how fast they bonded. We mean, Woodley even told Shape in June 2021 she moved in with the athlete right away as they rode out the coronavirus pandemic together!
"It really felt like one day he was with Danica Patrick, and then suddenly he was with Shailene. It happened super fast. There was no way this could be so serious," one source told People of Rodgers in February 2021. "Everyone thought it was a casual thing because that's what he was telling everyone, even when it was clearly not a casual thing."
Another insider also dished to People about the shock that came with the romance later that month, noting falling in love so quickly was out of character for the athlete. "He's usually so methodical about everything. I'm not saying he's not a romantic, but he thinks things through. He's analytical. He is very careful," they said. "He didn't seem to be the type to get so serious after just a few months of dating, especially after the way things ended with Danica Patrick." Rodgers and Patrick called it quits around July 2020 after two years together, per E! News.
Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley had differing views
Another reason Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley's romance came as a surprise to many? They seemed to live very different lives with very different views. Notably, Rodgers has made his stance on COVID-19 vaccines very clear and claimed in August that he was a big fan of former President Barack Obama... but seemingly not so much when it comes to President Barack Obama. "Democrats have got to be thinking, 'How do we go from Obama to this?'" Rodgers said on "The Joe Rogan Experience," adding, "That's why I would say politics is a sham." As for Woodley, she's openly supported Bernie Sanders and is also an extremely vocal environmental activist to the point she was even arrested during the Dakota Pipeline protest in 2016, per Dazed.
So, how did these two ever work? A People insider perhaps described it best in 2021 when they claimed, "They have a different, non-traditional relationship," before another source revealed the following month, "They disagreed on a lot of things. Early on, they decided to agree to disagree about things and not debate them. She is not someone whose mind you can change, so Aaron hasn't even tried." And with all those differences, it was apparently no real surprise to those closest to them that things fizzled. "They fell hard and fast, but it was a mismatch from the start. Aaron's a complicated guy," a third source told People.