Aaron Rodgers ‘healed’ relationships, childhood memories during darkness retreat
Aaron Rodgers opened up about his recent experience in isolation during a four-day darkness retreat.
Appearing on the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” on Wednesday, the Packers quarterback — whose NFL future remains a question mark — detailed how he had “a lot of great contemplation” on the first day of the retreat in regard to how he “show[s] up in the world.”
“I really wanted to contemplate some things with some relationships in my life, some family stuff, and then, obviously, career stuff, and just kind of let whatever was going to come in, come in. And it did, it definitely did,” said Rodgers, who spent time at a facility in southern Oregon.
“There was a lot of great contemplation the first day and a lot of lessons around how I show up in the world and how I show up to, in my relationships, friendships, and there was definitely some interesting insights around my childhood, and things that happened in my childhood that I was able to sit with and heal,” the 39-year-old quarterback continued.
Rodgers, who has not yet made a decision regarding a potential 19th NFL season, has had a prickly relationship with his family for years.
Back in 2016, the mysterious rift between Rodgers and his loved ones became an unexpected plot point on Season 12 of “The Bachelorette,” when the quarterback’s younger brother, Jordan Rodgers, competed for the affection of his now-wife, JoJo Fletcher.
Less than a year later, Rodgers’ father Ed cryptically told The New York Times, “Fame can change things.”
“I have been an enigma at times trying to keep my private life private and I didn’t want to work through problems with my family in the public sphere, as unfortunately they did at times,” Rodgers said. “There was this mystery around me.”
When Rodgers appeared on Marcus’ show last summer, the former Super Bowl champion expressed how he believes in “healing,” as well as “the possibility of reconciliation at some point.”
“But, it’s a different journey for all of us, and to judge on the outside about what should be or what it should look like, or who’s wrong or who’s right, is just a game I’ve never wanted to play and still don’t want to play,” Rodgers said at the time.
The NFL star continued, “The most important thing for me is deep love and gratitude for them, and for the lessons I learned, and for the way I was raised, and hope for the future.
“But, who knows what that future is gonna look like, when it’s gonna look like, when time is gonna come.”
Beyond his personal affairs, Rodgers also told Marcus on Wednesday’s show how he took time during the retreat to envision “what it would be like to retire and then imagining what it’d be like to continue to play.”
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that he had not yet heard about Rodgers’ intentions for the upcoming season.
“Obviously, free agency is coming up here [March 13], and that’s an important part of what we’re doing, so it would be nice to have some answers before that,” Gutekunst said, “but until we have any conversations, we’re still in a good spot.”
Rodgers has been linked to the Jets this offseason, with the team engaging in preliminary discussions with the Packers, should he become available via trade.
