Feeling remorse. Aaron Rodgers reflected on his controversial COVID-19 vaccine comments and how they affected his ex-fiancée, Shailene Woodley.
Relive Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley’s Relationship Ups and Downs
“One thing that I am sad about and definitely apologetic is I didn’t realize in the midst of the COVID conversations how much my situation was affecting my loved ones and my people,” the 38-year-old athlete said during the Tuesday, February 22 episode of The Pat McAfee Show. “I didn’t realize the kind of shrapnel that was being flaked off of what I felt like were the bullets coming at me because I was too locked in on me and defending myself and trying to get a message out.”
The Green Bay Packers quarterback — who announced his engagement to Woodley, 30, in February 2021 before splitting one year later — expressed sadness for how everything went down regarding his aversion to getting vaccinated.
“I never wanted to be divisive in this whole thing, I really didn’t,” he claimed on Tuesday. “The issue is polarizing, I get that, and I know there’s a lot of fear involved around that, but my intention was never to be divisive.”
The four-time NFL MVP gave the Big Little Lies alum a special shout-out during the interview, saying, “I am very sorry to those people, Shai and my loved ones.”
Rodgers added: “I didn’t realize the kind of shrapnel they’d be taking. … Understanding kind of the entire gravity of the situation I was thrust into and decided to speak on multiple times had an effect on a lot of people. To those people, I just say, ‘I’m sorry.’”
The professional athlete came under fire in November 2021 when he tested positive for COVID-19 after previously telling reporters that he was “immunized.”
Aaron Rodgers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Controversy: Everything to Know
Following his positive diagnosis, Rodgers claimed he underwent his own protocol and treatments to “stimulate my immune system to create a defense against COVID” following his own “research” about the vaccine.
The former University of California, Berkley quarterback was then accused of lying to the press about his vaccination status, which he later denied doing.
“I didn’t lie in the initial press conference,” he claimed on The Pat McAfee Show in November 2021. “And at the time my plan was to say I’ve been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie … I found an immunization protocol that could best protect me and my teammates. And it was a long-term protocol that involved multiple months.”
Later that month, Rodgers returned to The Pat McAfee Show and took “full responsibility for those comments,” acknowledging that he understood why people felt “misled” by his initial remarks.
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Through all the drama, Woodley seemingly had her then-fiancé’s back. In November 2021, the Divergent actress fired back at reports claiming that Rodgers was seen walking around Los Angeles when he was supposed to be quarantining in accordance with NFL policy.
“Literally, y’all need to calm the f—k down,” she wrote via her Instagram Story alongside the photo of the man people claimed to be the football star. “This is straight up HILARIOUS.”
The Insurgent actress added: “I know Aaron’s body very well. First off, his feet, ahem and no offense to this rando dude, are a LOT bigger.”
Despite sticking by Rodgers’ side through his COVID-19 controversy, Us Weekly confirmed on February 16 that the duo had called it quits. “It was an amicable split and they are on good terms now,” a source exclusively told Us at the time.
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