Aaron Rodgers fans and Bachelor Nation, this one’s for you! In his new Netflix documentary series Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, the NFL star gets candid about his career struggles, personal journey and—most surprisingly—his infamous 2016 family drama that played out on The Bachelorette. From his brother Jordan Rodgers’ reality TV stint to that unforgettable empty-chair dinner scene, Rodgers doesn’t hold back. Here’s everything he revealed.
Aaron Rodgers breaks silence on 2016 ‘Bachelorette’ drama
His tense relationship with his family became publicized back in 2016 thanks to his brother, Jordan Rodgers, participating in season 12 of The Bachelorette. Much like his older brother Aaron, Jordan played professional football before making his foray into reality television where he was one of the contestants competing for the heart of Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher. Jordan took home the final rose at the end of the season and the couple tied the knot back in 2022—a ceremony that Aaron did not attend. Aaron’s estrangement from his family has been credited to a lot of things, one of the big factors being his rejection of the rigid religious beliefs he grew up with, however, his brother’s 2016 reality TV stint complicated things much further.
As is tradition with The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, contestants take home the star of the show to meet their families on hometown dates, to see where they grew up, meet their loved ones and learn more about the people they could potentially marry at the end of the show.
The infamous ‘Bachelorette’ dinner scene explained
When it came time for Jordan Rodgers to take JoJo back home to meet his family, two empty chairs were on display at the dinner table—chairs that were meant to be sat in by Aaron and his girlfriend at the time, Olivia Munn. That moment exposed Aaron’s family rift, turning a private matter into public speculation. In his new Netflix documentary, Aaron has spoken out on it like never before.
“They go on a bulls–t show and leave two empty chairs,” he said in the series. “They all agreed this was like 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.” To make the situation worse, Rodgers went on to clarify that he had never even received an invitation to attend the dinner, though he said he would not have attended even if he had.
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Aaron Rodgers on the future of his relationship with his family
Though the current state of their relationship is strained, Rodgers went on to say that he isn’t discounting the possibility of them finding their footing as a family once again. “I don’t wish any ill will on them at all. It’s more like this—we’re just different steps on a timeline of our own journeys.”
