Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has fiercely responded to those spreading false rumors about his wife and prying into his private life.
Rodgers, who has announced that 2025 will mark his final NFL season, has often been the subject of media attention due to his high-profile relationships, with the latest development in his romantic life catching many off guard.
After being seen wearing a ring last month, Rodgers confirmed he had married a mystery woman, news that blindsided his estranged family who learned of the marriage online.
While on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ Tuesday, Rodgers criticized the paparazzi and media for their lack of respect for his privacy. “It’s a sick society, isn’t it? I lived in the public eye for 20 years, I had public relationships,” he said.
He continued, detailing the invasions of his privacy: “How did that work out? I had people leaking my home information and making up stories that we bought a house together. I had people calling the paparazzi, I had people posting my personal life on the internet. I didn’t want any of that, didn’t like any of that.
“Now I’m with somebody who’s private, who doesn’t want to be in the public eye, didn’t sign up to be a celebrity, doesn’t want to be a part of it. And because I do things in private because I want my personal life to be private, now I’m weird.”
Rodgers expressed his frustration with the lack of “common decency” he perceives in the media regarding privacy boundaries. “Now the paparazzi is stalking me on the beach trying to get a picture of her, or stalking me in a workout,” he lamented.
“What is the entitlement to information that we’re living in society these days where that’s like a norm? It’s a norm to be able to have athletes’ addresses. They posted something about a house I bought in Pittsburgh, and here’s the inside of it, and here’s where it is.
“What happened to the common decency about security and a personal life that we now have to dive into your details of where you live, and what you’re doing, and who you’re with, and who your wife is, and if you even have a wife, and if you’re doing some sort of attention grabbing thing.”
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Despite acknowledging the public nature of his career since signing with the Steelers, Rodgers insisted on keeping his private life out of the spotlight, particularly respecting his wife’s privacy. “I know that I’ve chosen to be in the public eye for one more season, but my private life is staying private,” he stated.
He also requested the media to leave his estranged family members out of the narrative, saying, “Any other ridiculous story that’s out there about my family that I don’t talk to – they wouldn’t know any information about me, leave them alone.
“I’m with somebody who wants to be private, and if and when she wants to be out and there’s a picture, she’ll choose that. And she deserves the right to that, but the entitlement to information about my private life is so f—— ridiculous and embarrassing.”
