Aaron Rodgers hasn't really spoken to his family for most of the past decade, but apparently, that changed a few months after he was traded to the New York Jets last year.
In a new book by Ian O'Connor called, "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers," the Jets QB opened up to the author by revealing a few new details about the situation with his family. Rodgers hadn't really spoken to his family since the holiday season of 2014, but that changed last year when he had a secret meeting with his dad, Ed.
According to O'Connor, Ed decided to make the trip to Lake Tahoe in July 2023 to watch his son play in the American Century Championship golf tournament. Aaron didn't know his dad was going to be there, but once he spotted him, he decided it was time to finally break the ice in a move that came less than three months after Aaron was traded to the Jets.
"I could do a lot of things," the 40-year-old said of the moment, via the New York Post. "But I just thought, 'What's best in this moment, and what kind of gift could I give him?' Because I do love him. I don't have animosity toward him, even with all the stuff that's been said and done."
The Rodgers family feud went public in July 2016 when Aaron's brother, Jordan, was a contestant on "The Bachelorette." While Jordan was courting his future wife, Jo Jo Fletcher, he revealed that everyone in the family is currently estranged from Aaron.
Over the years, the Jets QB hasn't offered very many details about the rift, but the book suggests that Aaron's former girlfriend, Olivia Munn, may have played a role in the rift, something Aaron and Munn both deny. According to the book, Ed and Darla Rodgers weren't thrilled that Munn had been publicly sharing details about her sex life with Aaron.
"Given her devout religious views, Aaron's mother disapproved of premarital sex and was opposed to her middle child sharing a hotel room with his girlfriend even as an NFL player," O'Connor wrote, via the Daily Mail.
Whatever the reason was for the split, Aaron's meeting with his father in Lake Tahoe opened the door for more communication. Less than two months after the meeting, both of Rodgers' parents were in attendance -- with Aaron's knowledge -- for his first game with the Jets.
Unfortunately, that game ended in disaster for Aaron after he tore his Achilles on the fourth play from scrimmage.
"It was shocking, honestly, so bizarre," Ed Rodgers said of the reaction in the stadium to the injury. "It took the wind out of the whole stadium. The people around us didn't know who we were, but nobody said anything negative like, 'This is what happens with an older quarterback.' It was, 'Oh no. Oh no. Tell me it's not true.' … It literally happened right across from us."
Aaron didn't meet up with his parents after the game, but it sounds like he's open to spending more time with his dad.
"I would like a relationship with my dad for sure," Aaron told O'Connor.
The book, which will be released on Aug. 20, is expected to reveal several new details about both Rodgers' football life and personal life.
