PEOPLE source: Aaron Rodgers is taking 'great precautions' not to worsen family feud
This story was written by Steve Helling and Natalie Stone and originally appeared on People.com.
Aaron Rodgers may not be on speaking terms with his family, but the Green Bay Packers quarterback is making an effort to not worsen the ongoing feud.
On Sunday, Aaron’s father, Ed Rodgers, confirmed to The New York Times that the family is not in verbal communication with his second son following the athlete’s rise in popularity.
“Fame can change things,” Ed said in reference to Aaron, 33.
News of the family’s rift first surfaced last spring when Jordan Rodgers competed on JoJo Fletcher‘s season 12 of The Bachelorette. While competing on the ABC reality series, Jordan, 28, revealed that although he was very close with his oldest brother Luke, Aaron is estranged from the rest of the family.
“It’s just the way he’s chosen to do life,” Jordan explained on the show. “I chose to stay close with my family and my parents and my brother [Luke].”
But although Jordan and his father have opened up about the family drama since it was first discussed on national television last spring, Aaron has no intention of addressing — or dealing with — it publicly.
“Aaron has never wanted want to air this out in a public forum. He’s going through great precautions not to make things worse,” a source close to the NFL star tells PEOPLE. “You’re not going to see him on Oprah crying about all of this. He will deal with his family issues privately.”
During Jordan’s time on the reality competition series, Aaron revealed to ABC’s WISN 12 News that he hadn’t been following his younger brother’s quest for love on the small screen.
“I haven’t seen the show, to be honest with you, so it hasn’t really affected me a whole lot,” said Aaron, adding that he didn’t want to elaborate on his relationship with his family.
“As far as those kinds of things go, I’ve always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters, so I’m just — I’m not going to speak on those things, but I wish him well in the competition,” he said.
Last August, Jordan — who proposed to Fletcher on the season 12 finale after receiving the final rose — explained to PEOPLE about why he decided to make his family’s drama with Aaron public.
“You know, I didn’t even think about it going into the show,” he admitted at the time. “I probably should’ve. I just wasn’t familiar with the show, but my goal was to be honest with her every step of the way.”
Jordan went on to admit that he thought it was necessary in order for Fletcher to get to know him better. “You don’t get any time off camera,” Jordan added. “So, we’re talking about really trying to get to an engagement – you got to share everything. It had to be talked about.”
Although Aaron had yet to meet his brother’s fiancée as of last August, Jordan told PEOPLE that his older brother is “absolutely” invited to his wedding.
“There’s no scenario in which I wouldn’t want my entire family at a wedding, so absolutely, that’s something all of our family wants and hopes for at some point,” Jordan said.