In a recent interview with Outside magazine, the 33-year-old actress Shailene Woodley opened up about why she rarely discusses her relationship with her ex-fiancé Aaron Rodgers. The 41-year-old NFL star had a significant impact on her life, yet she has chosen to keep much of it private. "I haven't shared much about our former romance because it always makes me cry," she admitted. "It was not right. But it was beautiful."

Emotional Reminiscences

Woodley and Rodgers first sparked dating rumors in July 2020 and went public with their engagement in February 2021. However, their relationship took a turn in February 2022 when they called off their engagement. Despite the split, Woodley still becomes emotional when talking about her ex. She shared that she had a "really awful, traumatic thing" happen in early 2022, although she did not name the New York Jets quarterback. She was in a "toxic situation" but chose to stay due to empathy. "It was not right. But it was beautiful," she repeated.During this difficult time, her stylist and best friend Kris Zero played a crucial role in helping her recover from depression. "Sometimes I was so angry at her," Woodley said. "But then we'd go surf, and for ten minutes that day I thought life could be OK again. Then the depression would come back and she'd go, 'We're volunteering at the horse ranch!' And we'd find a random f—— horse ranch, and we'd clean up horse s—. We'd clean hooves and brush the horses, and for 20 minutes that day I thought life could be OK again. And then the depression came back and she'd wake me up the next morning and go, 'Let's go on a hike and bring trash bags and clean up trash!'"After about six months, Woodley began to recover from her depression.

Instagram Tribute

Shortly after their first split in February 2022, Rodgers shared a tribute to Woodley on Instagram. The 4-time NFL MVP wrote, "@shailenewoodley, thanks for letting me chase after you the first couple months after we met, and finally letting me catch up to you and be a part of your life. Thanks for always having my back, for the incredible kindness you show me and everyone you meet, and for showing me what unconditional love looks like. I love you and am grateful for you."

Disdain for Pretentiousness

In a September interview with Bustle, Woodley alluded to the reason behind their split as she shared her disdain for pretentious behavior. "I'm very uninterested in the performance of people at this moment in life. I'm uninterested in the external value that we put on everything," she said. "I find the performance of being something else in order to receive love or acceptance or work from others to be the ultimate form of soul death." She attributed her opposition to performative behavior to previously suffering from a "broken heart.""A broken heart that healed and broke again," she explained. "I fell in love over and over with unavailability. I'm very open as a human. I love easy, and I care easy, but I do not love lightly, and I do not care lightly.""It's really taken me a lot of time to understand that it's not on me to fix or heal or do anything about [a relationship] other than protect the deep care and love that I have for the world and for my people. Ultimately, that has helped me walk away without the need to understand why certain things didn't play out the way that I may have desired them to." She added, "I give all of myself. I used to be a person who, if you crossed me and disrespected that, would continue to give and give. And now you cross me, I respectfully go, 'Thank you so much for that information. Have a beautiful life. I wish you well.' Not interested."Fox News Digital has reached out to a rep for Rodgers for comment.