Aaron Rodgers slams The Bachelorette star brother Jordan for going on ‘stupid dating show’ to get famous

Aaron Rodgers criticized his younger brother Jordan Rodgers’ stint on The Bachelorette – which he described as ‘a stupid dating show’ – in his new Netflix docuseries, Aaron Rodgers: Enigma.

When Jordan, 36, appeared in 2016 on the ABC series (where he pursued eventual wife JoJo Fletcher, 34), the show made a point to illustrate that Aaron, 41, was not present during the hometown visit.

In one sequence, the series showed a pair of empty chairs at the family dinner table set for the four-time NFL MVP and his girlfriend at the time, actress Olivia Munn, 44.

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Aaron, who’s currently playing for the New York Jets, said in the doc on the streamer that he ‘was close with [his] little brother’ Jordan at one time, but tension built with him and other relatives in ensuing years.

‘It wasn’t like I was super duper close with everybody in the family,’ said the Chico, California native. ‘But in actuality, it goes back to stuff from high school that kind of made me feel distant. Stuff in college, stuff post-college.’

Aaron, a four-time NFL MVP as the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback for 15 years, said he ‘was quiet about’ the family hostility, and ‘thought the best way to do it was just don’t talk about it publicly.’

Aaron Rodgers, 36, criticized his younger brother Jordan Rodgers’ stint on The Bachelorette – which he described as ‘a stupid dating show’ – in his new Netflix documentary, Aaron Rodgers: Enigma. Pictured Sunday in Jacksonville, Florida

Aaron said that seeing Jordan and other relatives appear on the reality TV romance rubbed him the wrong way.

‘What do they do? They go on a bulls*** show and leave two empty chairs,’ Aaron said of how he was depicted. ‘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.’

Aaron provided further context into the rift he has with his immediate family, including parents Ed and Darla, and brothers Luke and Jordan.

‘I grew up in a very white, dogmatic church and that just didn’t really serve me,’ Aaron said. ‘It was very rigid in structure, I’m not a rigid person.

‘Shame, guilt, judgment – it was like, “We have the truth, our way or the highway; our way is heaven, your way is hell.”‘

Aaron said that his family had a ‘very black and white’ view in their thinking, as ‘somebody has to be wrong’ and ‘somebody has to be right.’

Aaron said, ‘I just slowly uncoupled from that in high school,’ as he was a student athlete at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico before going on to play college football at Butte College and the University of California, Berkeley.

Aaron, who’s currently playing for the New York Jets, said in the doc on the streamer that he ‘was close with [his] little brother’ Jordan at one time, but tension built with him and other relatives in ensuing years 

Jordan and JoJo Fletcher of The Bachelorette fame were pictured at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 8, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California 

Aaron said in the docuseries that as his profile rose – he led the Packers to a Super Bowl XLV win in 2011 – he faced internal pressure from his relatives.

‘There was a lot of times when I became real famous that I heard from a lot of people – including family members – where it was like, “Your life is too big; we need you to be smaller. Be smaller. Don’t talk about your life,”‘ Aaron said.

Aaron said that the lack of encouragement ‘always hurt’ his feelings.

‘Because I just feel like you don’t see me,’ he said. ‘This is not something I ever desired or wanted other than playing on Sundays. 

‘It can definitely change the people around your circle because it can be intoxicating, the fame and notoriety – so definitely relationships change after that – friendships, family.’

Aaron was not present when Jordan and JoJo wed May 14, 2022 at the Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, California, US Weekly reported at the time. 

Aaron commented on his rift with Jordan during an August 2022 appearance on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast, saying that he believes ‘in healing’ and ‘the possibility of reconciliation at some point.

‘Many people have issues with family and deal with them in their own ways,’ the NFL staple said.

Aaron in the docuseries provided further context into the rift he has with his immediate family, including parents Ed and Darla, and brothers Luke and Jordan 

Aaron said that seeing Jordan and other relatives appear on the reality TV romance in 2016 rubbed him the wrong way, and depicted him in a misleading manner 

He added, ‘For me, I’ve always tried to deal with it quietly behind closed doors.

‘That hasn’t always been the case or hasn’t been good enough for a lot of people who want to write about it, or pick it apart, or talk about it, or even some things that my family has said or done over the years that’s been public.’

Rodgers said he’s never been comfortable engaging publicly in discussion about his family dynamics.

‘To judge on the outside about what should be, or what it should look like, or who’s wrong and who’s right, it’s just a game I’ve never wanted to play and still don’t want to play,’ he said.

Rodgers said the ‘most important’ factor is the ‘deep love and gratitude’ he has for his family.

‘Who knows what that future is going to look like, when it’s going to look like, when the time is going to come,’ Rodgers said. ‘But I have no bitterness in my heart, I have no resentment. 

‘I just have deep love and appreciation for the lessons that I learned and the fact that if I hadn’t been raised that way, all the good and all the frustrating, there’s no way I’d be sitting here today.’