Aaron Rodgers called out his family for excluding him and then-girlfriend Olivia Munn from an episode of “The Bachelorette” in 2016.
During episode 2 of his new Netflix docuseries, “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” the New York Jets quarterback recalled the time his younger brother, Jordan Rodgers, appeared on Season 12 of the ABC reality series and exposed their family drama on national TV.
At the time, Jordan was one of many suitors fighting for now-wife JoJo Fletcher’s heart. When the reality TV star picked him as one of her “final two,” she then headed to his hometown of Chico, Calif., to meet with family ahead of the big finale.
The episode featured the Rodgers family all sitting down at a dinner table — with two seats purposely left empty for Aaron and Munn.
“And what do they do? They go on a bulls–t show and leave two empty chairs,” the NFL star, 41, told Netflix cameras, while reflecting on that specific storyline.
“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 [football] season, I was never asked to go to. Not that I would’ve gone.”
The topic was brought up during the docuseries as Aaron explained how his family dynamic has changed over the years. He admitted he was never “super duper close with everybody in the family,” but that he had been “close” with his younger brother, now 36.
However, things seemingly crumbled between them once the NFL star made it big.
“In actuality, it goes back to stuff from high school that kind of made me feel distant. Stuff in college, stuff post-college,” he explained.
Although both brothers played football in college, Aaron was drafted by the NFL in 2005 while Jordan was released from three NFL teams.
Aaron said that he chose to remain quiet about his estrangement from his family because he “thought the best way to do it was, ‘just don’t talk about it publicly.’”
However, Jordan brought light to their feud by telling Fletcher during the hometown episode, “I have a great relationship with my [older] brother, Luke. Me and Aaron don’t really have much of a relationship.
“It’s just kind of the way he’s chosen to do life, and I chose to stay close with my family, my parents and my brother,” he added, alluding to his brother’s career in the NFL.
Their dad, Ed Rodgers, then chimed in, saying, “Fame can change you, but one thing I know about Jordan, he’s so strong-willed and that’s not going to change him in any way.”
Aaron and Jordan have one older brother, 42-year-old Luke Rodgers, whom the former Green Bay Packers star has also been estranged from.
Jordan and Fletcher went on to get married in 2022, while Munn and Aaron broke up in 2017. However, their relationship as brothers was permanently damaged.
At the time, it was speculated that Munn, 44, had caused Aaron’s estrangement from his family.
In 2024, Ed and Aaron’s mom, Darla, blasted the actress in an excerpt from Ian O’Connor’s new book, “Out of Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers.”
“She said the family was dysfunctional before she met Aaron, which is bull,” Ed said, further alleging that before the “Magic Mike” actress came into the picture, he and his wife attended all of Aaron’s games and even stayed at his home.
“We had a great relationship. Nothing bad was going on,” the family patriarch added.
However, Aaron hit back, telling O’Connor that Munn had “nothing to do with all the years before” and claimed that their family issues are “deep-rooted.” He declined to go into detail about the specifics.
“Aaron Rodgers: Enigma” is streaming now on Netflix.