Aaron Rodgers reveals more about his seemingly complicated relationship with his family in a new documentary.

“Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” released Dec. 17, follows Rodgers throughout his two decades in the NFL, beginning with his early days and college career through his Season-ending Achilles tendon injury while playing for the New York Jets in 2023. He also discusses moments that made headlines, like his comments during the 2021 NFL season regarding his vaccination status at his use of ayahuasca.

Part of the documentary focuses on his relationship with his family. For the first time, he discusses their 2016 appearance on “The Bachelorette.”

Here’s what the quarterback shared about their estrangement.

Aaron Rodgers said feelings of ‘separation’ started in high school

Aaron Rodgers grew up in Chico, California. Born to parents Ed and Darla Rodgers, he is the middle of three boys, spanning older brother Luke Rodgers and younger brother Jordan Rodgers.

In the new documentary “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma“, Aaron Rodgers said he began questioning his family’s value system and approach to religion in high school.

“I grew up in a very white, dogmatic church and it really didn’t serve me,” Aaron Rodgers said. “Its structure was very rigid; I am not a rigid person.

Aaron Rodgers has made further comments about his experiences with religion in his youth.

“Most people I knew, church was just…you just had to go,” Aaron Rodgers said on the “Quite intense» podcast with his then-girlfriend Danica Patrick.

He said in the documentary that in high school he began to drift away from his parents’ beliefs. It was around this time that he began to no longer feel close to his family, with the exception of his younger brother Jordan Rodgers.

“It wasn’t like I was super close with everyone in the family. I was close to my little brother,” Aaron Rodgers said. “But actually it goes back to high school stuff that seems distant to me, college stuff, post-college stuff.”

Aaron Rodgers said that amid a feeling of “certain separation” he had to nourish himself.

“Sometimes when you experience dysfunction or separation in your family life, you have to kind of repent and give yourself what you didn’t have or didn’t want to hear more of when you were a kid, and I think for me, I just wanted to hear, ‘I’m proud of you,'” he said.

“I had to find a way to be my own parent in those moments and say, ‘Hey, fucking be perfect.’ I am proud of who you are and what you have accomplished on and off the field. And sorry for any mistakes, because I was just trying to do my best and a lot of times it wasn’t good enough,” he said.

2011: Fame “changed” his relationships, Aaron Rodgers said

After Aaron Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers, he had to adjust to a new level of fame.

He said that in the documentary, the first time he realized his own fame was during a trip to Hawaii in 2011, when he attracted the attention of the paparazzi. “Life is different now,” he remembers thinking.

From there, Aaron Rodgers was propelled into the spotlight, including through marquee deals like a 12-year partnership with State farm and multiple public relations.

“It can definitely change the people around you because it can be intoxicating, the fame and notoriety. So the relationships definitely changed after that, the friendships, the family,” explained Aaron Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers said, in the documentary, that members of his family – whom he did not identify by name – had criticized his approach.

“There have been many times when I became very famous, where I had people, including family members, say to me, ‘Your life is too big, we need you to be smaller, be smaller, don’t talk about it.’ your life,” he said.

“It always hurt me because I just feel like you don’t see me,” the quarterback continued. “It’s not something I’ve ever desired or wanted other than playing on Sunday.”

2014: Family breakdown begins

In an interview given in 2017 to New York TimesEd Rodgers, the brothers’ father, described a Money launderers report article saying the family breakdown started in 2014 is accurate. According to Bleacher Report, Aaron Rodgers had not spoken to his brothers or his parents since 2014.

“Fame can change things,” Ed Rodgers said. Ed Rodgers said it was “hard to say” whether their relationship had “thawed.”

What caused the breakup? Aaron Rodgers said that in Ian Connor’s 2024 book “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers” the tension had nothing to do with his then-girlfriend Olivia Munn, despite reports to the contrary . Family members cited in Connor’s book, including Rodgers’ parents, cited Munn as a source of family tension.

Rodgers said Munn “has nothing to do with all the previous years” and said, according to Connor, that the problems were “deep-rooted” but did not elaborate on them. Munn and Rodgers dated between 2014 and 2017.

TODAY.com has contacted Munn for comment.

2016: Jordan Rodgers continues on ‘The Bachelorette,’ sparking family rift rumors

After family members spoke out about Aaron Rodgers’ perception in the public eye, his younger brother Jordan Rodgers was cast on “The Bachelorette.”,» winning the series and marrying JoJo Fletcher in 2022.

On the show, Jordan Rodgers opened up about his relationships with his family members, including his brother Aaron.

“I have a great relationship with my brother Luke,” Jordan said in the episode. “Aaron and I don’t really have a relationship. It’s just kind of the way he chose to live life, and I chose to stay close to my family and my parents and my brother and, yeah, it’s not ideal. And I love it.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in his shoes and have the pressure that he has and the demands of the people that he has. Don’t hold grudges against him. That’s how things are going right now,” he continued.

Aaron and Jordan’s brother Luke Rodgers also commented on their family rift on the show. “It hurts both of us not to have that relationship (with Aaron) – we miss our brother,” Luke Rodgers said. “I trust that God will come full circle and everything will become family again. »

Jordan Rodgers commented on the state of his relationship with his older brother while in the spotlight on ‘The Bachelorette’ on the “Garbage Time Podcast» with Katie Nolan.

“We have a relationship,” Jordan Rodgers said. “You know, it’s complicated. I’ll say it.

At the time, Aaron Rodgers declined to comment. “When it comes to that sort of thing, I’ve always found it a little inappropriate to talk publicly about certain family matters, so I’m just – I’m not going to talk about those things, but I wish him well . in the competition, » he told ABC affiliate WISN-TV.

He questioned, in the 2024 book “Out of the Darkness,” why family members discussed the breakup publicly.

“I wonder why they feel the need to talk about it, because it’s like a game of poker,” Aaron told the author. “When you have all the cards in your hand, you don’t have to bluff. They can’t say anything but make up stories, but look at the facts. »

2024: Aaron Rodgers Finally Addresses ‘The Bachelorette’ Appearance

Eight years after “The Bachelorette” aired with his family, Aaron Rodgers tackled it head-on for the first time in “Enigma: Aaron Rodgers.”.”

He pointed to the two empty chairs at Rodgers’ family table, which he said hinted at his absence.

“They go on a bull show and leave two chairs empty,” Rodgers said in the documentary. “They all agreed it was a good thing to do, to leave two empty chairs on a stupid dating show, that my brother went on just to get famous. His words, not mine.

Aaron Rodgers said he was not invited to the dinner: “A dinner that was during the season, I was never asked to attend. Not that I would have left.

TODAY.com has contacted Jordan Rodgers for comment.

2024: Where is the family now?

Aaron Rodgers said he tells people, “Of course” when asked about the possibility of a reconciliation.

“I don’t want them to fail, to struggle, to have conflicts or problems. I don’t wish them any ill will,” Aaron Rodgers said. “We are just different stages in the timeline of our own journeys.”