Aaron Rodgers is finally opening up about the complicated relationship he has with his family on the docuseries Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, which just hit the 2024 Netflix schedule. The rift — particularly between the quarterback and his younger brother Jordan Rodgers — became public knowledge when Jordan went on The Bachelorette in 2016. Aaron didn’t mince words about what went down when his brother brought JoJo Fletcher home to meet his parents, calling The Bachelor series “a stupid dating show that my brother just went on to get famous.”
Aaron Rodgers: Enigma is a three-part docuseries (which premiered December 17 and can be streamed now with a Netflix subscription) that dives into the life and career of the sometimes-controversial Super Bowl MVP. He said a distance started to form between him and Jordan Rodgers as they grew up and their football careers began. Aaron said:
It wasn’t like I was super duper close with everybody in the family. I was close with my little brother. But in actuality, it goes back to stuff from high school that kind of made me feel distant. Stuff in college, stuff post-college. And I was quiet about it, because I thought the best way to do it was just don’t talk about it publicly.
However, Jordan Rodgers — who would go on to marry The Bachelorette’s JoJo Fletcher in 2022 — did talk about it publicly. He didn’t go into too much detail regarding what exactly happened with Aaron, but he made it clear that they hadn’t spoken in two years because of “the way he’s chosen to do life.”
Aaron Rodgers was particularly irritated by his family’s actions when Jordan brought JoJo Fletcher to meet his parents on Hometown dates. He said on Enigma:
And what do they do? They go on a bullshit show and leave two empty chairs. They all agreed this was a good thing to do, to leave two empty chairs at a stupid dating show that my brother just went on to get famous — his words, not mine. That he ended up winning. But a dinner that was during the season, I was never asked to go to, not that I would’ve gone.
Wow, shots fired not only at his brother — saying Jordan only went on The Bachelorette to get famous — but to the “stupid” Bachelor franchise as a whole!
Clearly Aaron Rodgers was — and understandably still is — upset about the two empty chairs left for him and his then-girlfriend Olivia Munn that made it look like they had snubbed the Bachelor Nation couple. In actuality everyone knew there was no chance he’d be there, because not only did The Bachelorette allegedly film during football season, but he wasn’t even invited.
Aaron Rodgers — who was playing for the Green Bay Packers back then — made it clear he didn’t want to discuss Jordan Rodgers’ stint on The Bachelorette, shading his brother in an interview at the time by saying:
I’ve always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters, so I’m not going to speak on those things. But I wish him well in the competition.
In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, the New York Jets quarterback did leave the door open for reconciling with Jordan Rodgers and the rest of his family. He said he doesn’t wish ill will on any of them and wants the best for everyone, but right now they’re on “different steps on the timeline of our own journeys.
I guess we can assume Aaron Rodgers won’t be tuning in when The Bachelor returns to the 2025 TV schedule, but I, for one, am excited to see Grant Ellis’ journey to find love.
