Danica Patrick Opens Up On Dating After Aaron Rodgers Breakup

Nearly a year after her breakup with Aaron Rodgers, Danica Patrick has a clearer sense of what she wants in a relationship.

Patrick, a retired NASCAR star, dated the Green Bay Packers quarterback for roughly two years before a surprise split last summer. It’s unclear whether Patrick currently is dating anyone, but Rodgers now is engaged to actress Shailene Woodley.

So, what does Patrick now look for in a boyfriend?

“When you know what you don’t want, you know what you do want,” the 38-year-old Patrick said in Friday’s “Tamron Hall” episode, via US Weekly. “It’s not necessarily that they have their work cut out for him but that they’re going to be an extremely high-quality person with a lot of boxes to check. It’s not as though there are boxes to check, it’s just that I know what I want now and I’m not willing to compromise (or) bend as much.”

Added Patrick: “There’s also this meeting on the other side of going, once I have healed, and I have processed and I have accepted the imperfections that exist within me, I now give permission for the other person to be imperfect, and I also don’t see their flaws as much. I use this reference because it’s mine: If someone’s lazy, I judge that right, because I don’t allow myself to be lazy. So now if I can create a healthy dynamic within myself of maybe reframing it and doing it more which is ‘resting’ now, if someone’s resting it used to be called lazy, but I’m not triggered anymore.

“And so the person is not seen in such a judgmental light anymore or I’m not judging myself. So, you know as you heal you also are able to coexist with people in a much more, a much easier way.”

It’s been an up-and-down ride since Patrick left NASCAR behind. But, if her Instagram offers any indication, the inspirational trailblazer is living life to the fullest.

Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images