Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers opened up on how an ayahuasca trip changed his life, including his relationship with his immediate family.Ā
Ayahuasca is life-changing.
At least, thatās how many individuals describe it after experiencing the intense, revelatory hallucinations created by this powerful plant-based psychedelic.
In fact, people travel from all over the world to Peru, where shamans lead individuals through introspective experiences on ayahuasca retreats. Aaron Rodgers recently revealed that he was among them, visiting Peru for an ayahuasca retreat in 2020. The experience changed him, and Rodgers believes that itās āno coincidenceā that he enjoyed back-to-back MVP seasons following ayahuasca trips in 2020 and 2021.
In Rodgersā case, the ayahuasca retreat helped him to ignore ānegative voicesā, allowing him to āfully give my heart to my teammates, my loved ones, relationships because I can fully embrace, unconditionally, myself.ā
Still, Rodgers says that he hasnāt repaired all of the relationships in his life, namely with his immediate family members. Rodgers has been under public scrutiny for years as his strained relationship with his family became more public with his brother, Jordan Rodgers, being featured on Season 12 of The Bachelorette.
While nothing has been fully resolved at this point, Aaron Rodgers says that he has āa lot of hope in healing at some point.ā
"āI really felt like I wanted to surrender and open up to the medicine for some healing to come through and some direction on how to kind of go about that. And it didnāt. It didnāt necessarily. The big message was unconditionally loving myself is the key to being able to heal all relationships ā with them, past relationships with lovers, whatever it might be⦠So that gives me a lot of hope in healing at some point.ā"
Packers: Aaron Rodgers opens up about family relationships after ayahuasca trip
In 2016, Jordan Rodgers was featured on The Bachelorette, where he courted now-wife JoJo Fletcher. Jordan told Fletcher that she would not be able to meet Aaron during a family visit.
"āMy middle brother wonāt be there, Aaron. Like I said, I have a great relationship with my brother Luke. Me and Aaron donāt really have that much of a relationship. Itās just kind of the way heās chosen to do life and Iāve chosen to stay close with my family and my parents and my brother.ā"
At the time, Luke Rodgers, the eldest Rodgers sibling, spoke openly about the impact of not having Aaron actively in their lives.
"āIt pains both of us, like, not to have that relationship [with Aaron] ā we miss our brother,ā Luke Rodgers said. āI trust that God brings things full circle and that everything would just get back to us being a family.ā"
Both Luke and Jordan remain close, as Luke decided to honor his brother by naming his son, Jack Jordan Rodgers, after his younger brother in June.
Aaron Rodgers reportedly hasnāt spoken to his family since December 2014, and while the exact reason why remains unclear, several sources have indicated that Aaron is the one who has chosen to keep his distance.
After The Bachelorette publicity, there have been several instances in which Aaron Rodgers incensed his family members, including when Luke and Jordan criticized Aaron for calling for support during California wildfires in 2018.
"āPLEASE DONATE, SPREAD AWARENESS & SEND LOVE,ā Jordan said in response. āBut when your Mom is home alone during the fires, car packed ready to evacuate, & you miss the fundamental first step of compassion; calling your parents to make sure they are safeā¦. Everything else just feels like an act.ā"
In 2020, Aaron Rodgersā criticism of Christianity reportedly ādismayedā several family members, as Rodgers comes from a deeply religious family.
All that being said, all three Rodgers brothers have now expressed their hope that healing may one day take place. Perhaps after Aaronās latest trip, it finally will.