Aaron Rodgers was not watching The Bachelorette through rose-colored glasses.
In fact, the NFL star didn’t appreciate much of his brother Jordan Rodgers’ appearance on season 12 of the series, which saw the sports commentator ultimately become engaged to JoJo Fletcher. But it was Jordan addressing his family’s estrangement with Aaron that peeved the quarterback the most.
And it was one scene in particular during the hometown dates—in which JoJo and Jordan ate dinner with the latter’s family, including his parents Ed and Darla, as well as Luke Rodgers and his girlfriend, with two empty seats at the table for Aaron and his then-girlfriend Olivia Munn—that was especially rankling.
“Aaron was irritated by his family’s decision to film that scene, empty chairs and all, especially when he was not invited to participate,” writes biographer Ian O’Conner, in his new book Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers. “Not that he would have shown up. Aaron did not appreciate that Jordan was using their personal issues to increase his visibility for a potential TV career.”
E! News has reached out to Jordan’s rep for comment but has not heard back.
In the leadup episode to the hometown dates, Jordan shared insight into his relationship with Aaron while telling JoJo the professional football player would not be meeting her.
“I have a great relationship with my brother Luke,” Jordan said in the episode. “Me and Aaron don’t really have that much of a relationship. It’s just kind of the way he’s chosen to do life, and I chose to stay close to my family and my parents and my brother and, yeah, it’s not ideal. And I love him.”
He continued, “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in his shoes and have the pressure he has and the demands from people that he has. Don’t have hard feelings against him. It’s just how things go right now.”
In the conversation, in addition to noting it was hard to pursue his own football career in Aaron’s shadow, Jordan told his future wife he didn’t think his brother was aware he was on The Bachelorette.
Yet, Aaron was. In fact, while at training camp that year, he told reporters, “I haven’t seen the show, to be honest with you, so it hasn’t really affected me a whole lot.”
However, he continued, “I’ve always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters, so I’m not going to speak on those things. But I wish him well in the competition.”
And that desire for familial privacy from the public has stayed with Aaron in the years since Jordan’s Bachelorette journey, during which time they’ve remained estranged.
As Ian writes in the book, “Given his history of not commenting on his family fractures, Aaron said he has been distressed over the years by the occasional leak or comment from a family member. He said he wishes he was granted the same respect he had shown his parents and siblings.”
“I have questions about why they feel the need to talk about it, because it’s like a game of poker,” Aaron told the author. “When you are holding all the cards, you don’t have to bluff. There’s nothing they can say other than make up stories, but look at the facts.”