This Person Was Missing From Aaron Rodgers’ Reunion With His Estranged Family
Aaron Rodgers surprised fans with his latest “bonding” posts on Instagram.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback hosted a “bonding week” recently with several teammates including wide receivers DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Ben Skowronek, tight end Pat Freiermuth, and backup quarterback Mason Randolph as they took part in outdoor activities like horseback riding. But what no one was expecting was that Aaron would also have bonding time with his family, whom the athlete has been estranged from for several years.
On July 20, Aaron shared pics on Instagram with his arm around his mother, Darla Rodgers, as well as another snap with his father, Ed Rodgers, and a few shots with his brother, Luke Rodgers, as he helped put together a toy presumably for Luke’s children. He captioned it, “Another bonding week” with the hashtag “fam.”
While fans were happy to see the family reunite, some wondered about Aaron’s younger brother, Jordan, who was not in any of the photos. It was Jordan who first alerted the public to the Rodgers’ family drama back in 2016 when he was a contestant on Season 12 of The Bachelorette.
“Me and Aaron don’t really have that much of a relationship,” Jordan said at the time, adding, “It’s just kind of the way he’s chosen to do life, and I chose to stay close with my family and my parents and my brother [Luke].”
Following Jordan’s revelation, Aaron told WISN what he thought about his sibling airing out their dirty laundry on television, saying: “As far as those kinds of things go, I’ve always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters, so I’m just — I’m not going to speak on those things.”
In his Netflix docuseries Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, the NFL star addressed their relationship and Jordan’s stint on the dating show where he met his future wife, JoJo Fletcher.
“It wasn’t like I was super duper close with everybody in the family,” Aaron revealed. “But in actuality, it goes back to stuff from high school that kind of made me feel distant. Stuff in college, stuff post-college. What do they do? They go on a bulls*** 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.”
While there’s been chatter over the years pointing to why the family had a falling out, the exact reason has never been given. Ed confirmed the rift with his son previously, telling the New York Times that the family stopped communicating with Rodgers around 2014, calling things “complicated.”
However, perhaps fans shouldn’t read too much into Jordan not being at the reunion because he and Fletcher did like Aaron’s post.
Also absent from the reunion was Aaron’s wife, Brittani, whom he revealed he married prior to last season.
