Shailene Woodley admits talking about ex Aaron Rodgers 'always makes me cry'

Shailene Woodley has admitted she still becomes emotional whenever she thinks about her relationship with Aaron Rodgers.

The Big Little Lies actress started dating the National Football League (NFL) quarterback in 2020, with the stars confirming their engagement the following year.

However, it was reported in February 2022 that the pair had parted ways.

Speaking to Outside magazine for an interview published on Tuesday, Shailene confessed that she becomes tearful whenever Aaron's name comes up.

"I haven't shared much about my relationship with Aaron because it always makes me cry," she said. "It was not right. But it was beautiful."

Shailene didn't discuss the reason for the split but she acknowledged a "really awful, traumatic thing" happened to her in early 2022.

And the California native described how she struggled with depression at the time.

"I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy. I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment," the 33-year-old continued, before crediting her friend, stylist Kris Zero, for supporting her. "I knew I was depressed when I looked at a tree and felt nothing. That was the lowest low of my life."

Shailene also recalled how Kris would force her to go surfing or volunteer at a horse ranch as a means of distraction.

"We'd clean hooves and brush the horses, and for 20 minutes that day I thought life could be OK again. And then the depression came back and she'd wake me up the next morning and go, 'Let's go on a hike and bring trash bags and clean up trash!'" she exclaimed, noting that the depression began to fade after six months.

Shailene now has a number of projects in the pipeline, including the action thriller Motor City.