Shailene Woodley Had Personal Transition Before Aaron Rodgers Split

Shailene Woodley recalled going through a “pretty heavy personal transition” months before her split from Aaron Rodgers.

Woodley, 32, opened up about her experience filming Starz’s Three Women, which is adapted from Lisa Taddeo’s novel about the true stories of women and their sex lives.

“The plot line and story of [my character] Gia are truthful to Lisa’s history but also fictional. She could relay her emotional complexities about those experiences,” Woodley told Natural Diamonds during an interview published on Tuesday, October 29. “But when I met her, I was like, ‘Oh, you’re a soulmate.’”

The actress found herself quickly connecting to her character, adding, “I was going through a pretty heavy personal transition [when we filmed], and to come to work and see her face and have that grounding rod artistically and professionally was something that I’ll take with me forever.”

Woodley recalled relating to the “microelements” of the story.

“One of the things that causes the most suffering in my life is this feeling of existential aloneness, which is different from loneliness,” she continued. “Three Women has become a pillar [for me] to feel less alone with my experiences and the emotional complexities of having a human heart. I hope it can offer the same thing to other women. There is room for conversations or connections to happen. It’s good to have art in the world that shares this idea.”

Three Women, which premiered in September, began filming in October 2021 and wrapped one month later. By February 2022, Us Weekly confirmed that Woodley and NFL star Rodgers, 40, ended their engagement after a whirlwind romance. The former couple sparked dating rumors in July 2020 and Rodgers confirmed their engagement nearly a year later.

Woodley, meanwhile, publicly discussed how their relationship began at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.

“It’s kind of funny. Everybody right now is freaking out over [our engagement] and we’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ve been engaged for a while,’” she said during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2021. “He’s, first off, just a wonderful, incredible human being. But I never thought I’d be engaged with somebody who threw balls for a living.”

The same month their split news broke, New York Jets quarterback Rodgers praised the time he got with Woodley before their breakup.

“Thanks for letting me chase after you the first couple months after we met, and finally letting me catch up to you and be a part of your life,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “Thanks for always having my back, for the incredible kindness you show me and everyone you meet, and for showing me what unconditional love looks like, I love you and am grateful for you.”

A source told Us in May 2022 that Woodley was “more upset” over the split while Rodgers seemed “to be moving on” just fine. “Ultimately, Shailene was not happy in the relationship,” the insider noted.

Earlier this year, Woodley reflected on heartbreak and how it played a role in her filming Three Women, telling Bustle in September, “I fell in love over and over with unavailability. I’m very open as a human. I love easy and I care easy, but I do not love lightly, and I do not care lightly.”

She added: “It’s really taken me a lot of time to understand that it’s not on me to fix or heal or do anything about [a relationship] other than protect the deep care and love that I have for the world and for my people. Ultimately, that has helped me walk away without the need to understand why certain things didn’t play out the way that I may have desired them to.”