It was quite the surprise when Aaron Rodgers showed up to Pittsburgh Steelers minicamp earlier this month with a ring on his finger. He later revealed that he had gotten married during the offseason and that was apparently what held up him signing with the Steelers in the first place.
Well, of course, people are going to have opinions anytime a major athlete gets married. Sometimes, star quarterbacks marry celebrities (think Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld), and other times, they marry their high school or college sweetheart (Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, for example).
Rodgers has been in relationships with famous women throughout his NFL career. He's publicly dated Olivia Munn, Danica Patrick, and Shailene Woodley, but the woman he has settled down with is not a celebrity. Heck, there's not even a picture of her anywhere. It certainly made people question if the Steelers quarterback was actually married or if this was another weird Rodgers story where he's trying to get attention.
Rodgers spoke about that on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday and popped off at people who think that this whole thing is a scam. He mentioned that his wife is not someone who wants to be in the public eye and he doesn't want that for her either.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers addresses fake marriage rumors
Rodgers talked about how his relationships were public before, and how people would leak his home information and make up stories about his relationship.
"Now I'm with somebody who's private, who doesn't want to be in the public eye, who didn't sign up to be a, you know, celebrity. Doesn't want to be a part of it. And because I do things in private 'cause I want my personal life to be private, now somehow I'm weird and now the paparazzi's stalking me on the beach trying to get a picture of her," Rodgers said.
Rodgers was upset that his wife wanting to be kept out of the public eye is now somehow considered weird. He also mentioned that when his NFL career is done, "you won't see me" and NFL fans are going to raise their eyebrows at that comment because Rodgers has pretty much put himself front and center throughout his career. Hearing him say he's a private person was definitely worth a good chuckle.
It's fine for an athlete's spouse to not want to be in the public eye. We've seen NFL quarterback wives not be front and center but to not even see a photo of the woman who Rodgers supposedly is married to does seem a bit odd.
He said that he didn't sell wedding pictures or make a loving post because that isn't his style. Some might say it's because the woman in question doesn't exist.
Hey, I love love, so hopefully Rodgers did find somebody who makes him happy. Football fans also wouldn't be mad if he disappeared from the public eye when his playing career is over. If his new wife helps make that happen, more power to her.