" He leave a trail of bloodline . "

This story contains discussion of abuse.

Danica Patrick is making some shocking claims about her past relationship withAaron Rodgers.

During an appearance onThe Sage Steele Show, the former NASCAR driver opened up about her relationship with the football player, whom she dated from 2018 to 2020.

When Sage asked Danica to describe “the most amount of pain” she’s ever been in, she replied, “Thebreakupwith Aaron in 2020.”

“Because it was sudden, it felt like," she explained. “It was my life. So like when you live with somebody, it’s your whole life. And because the nature of the relationship was emotionally abusive, so that wore me down to nothing.”

“People could never imagine that I would lack…any confidence or belief in the simple things about who I am. Everything was torn to bits. Yeah, he leaves a trail of blood. I don’t think I’m saying too much earth-shattering stuff after we — there’s been enough out there.”

Sage then asked Danica if she’d realized “at the time” that the relationship was “emotionally abusive,” and she replied that she came to the realization “in hindsight.” “I ignored it, but in real life, it was just like, I just feel like — I would say all the time, ‘I’m built for hard things. I can handle hard things.’ And so I just saw it as a hard thing,” she added.

“And my nature is to try harder and do more. And I was like, ‘What if I don’t do it for the right person?’ Like, what if I just get a stick up my ass about this and get too proud and go like, ‘You know what, I’m just done.’ Instead of going, ‘Man just try a little harder because what if you look back and wish you would have tried?’ Like, I would never want that in my life.”

Danica also said that her ultimate takeaway from the relationship’s dissolution was that “everything leads to the next thing.”

“It gave me the greatest gift — the greatest gift — which is myself,” she said. “It gave me the greatest gift of how much I needed to show up for myself and take care of myself.”

You can watch the entire interviewhere.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services;GoodTherapy.orgis an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.

Danica Patrick holding a microphone looks serious, dressed in a stylish high-neck blouse with decorative buttons

The Sage Steele Show / Viayoutube.com

Danica Patrick and Aaron Rodgers on a red carpet; one in a floral dress, the other in a dark suit

Aaron Rodgers in a tuxedo and Danica Patrick in a studded one-shoulder dress pose on the red carpet at an event

Danica Patrick and Aaron Rodgers in a racing suit share a close moment at a racetrack event with a crowd and other people in the background

Danica Patrick in a velvet wrap dress with layered necklaces at a red carpet event

Danica Patrick wearing reflective sunglasses and a floral-patterned outfit with a lanyard around their neck

Danica Patrick in a stylish black one-shoulder dress poses confidently against a geometric background

Danica Patrick being interviewed by Sky Sports, wearing a black top with wavy hair. Microphone in the foreground