Shailene Woodley covers the latest issue of Shape Magazine. She’s promoting her new Netflix movie, The Last Letter From Your Lover. Shape tries to make Shailene sound like a throwback to another time by… noting that she “still carries a flip phone.” End of list! She’s not really a throwback, she just carries a flip-phone and more power to her. She’s also being interviewed because she collaborated with a South American company (Karun) which recycles ocean microplastics (all of the plastic debris in the oceans) and turns the plastic into sunglasses. And of course, she also chats about Aaron Rodgers, her fiance. Some highlights:
Her collaboration with sunglasses company Karün, which upcycles microplastics: “Those microplastics — there’s no way we will ever clean them up. No matter how many eyeglasses we make. No matter how many other material goods we create using them…..What we can change is consuming that plastic in the first place. I’m always much more focused on the human side of the environmentalist mission because until we address that, nothing will happen.”
Her new Netflix movie, The Last Letter From Your Lover: “Our classic stories of love at first sight and soulmate kind of love are just not something a lot of people get to experience.”
Her relationship with Aaron Rodgers. “Starting a relationship where you immediately move in with someone — because it’s a pandemic and you can’t just get on a plane and go back and forth on weekends — taught us a lot about each other very quickly. We jumped in headfirst and got some of the sticky bits out of the way early.” It’s not something Shailene foresaw in those first dark days of lockdown. “I was by myself with my dog and didn’t see anyone for three months. It forced me to be still and quiet.”
She feels they were meant to be together: “I have the perspective that I would have met Aaron in any context, any space in time, because I feel we were meant to be together.”
Her moves for a healthy headspace. “One thing I really prioritize is sleep, and it has changed my life genuinely. Another is focusing on how I can nurture and help my self-talk. When I notice negative self-talk happening, how I can sit with it and be friends with it instead of constantly feeling I’m in this rat race of not good enough, not this enough. Becoming a witness to it instead of a victim to it has also dramatically improved my health. Plus, I use astrology: It’s simply a tool to give ourselves permission, to accept ourselves and understand ourselves more. The minute I understand that I was built to think this way, instead of judging myself for it, I have acceptance for myself. It’s an allowance to have more self-compassion.”
This answers so many questions about Shailene: “I was raised by two psychologists, so empathy was a big deal in our household. Everything was about trying to understand everyone else’s experience. Not necessarily agreeing with it, but having empathy for whatever they were going through. From there, I looked at nature and the natural world the same way. I don’t want to save the ocean because my mind says it’s the right thing to do. I want to save the ocean because I can feel that she’s suffering. I can feel that turtle drowning from the plastic in its belly. I can feel the temperatures rising on the algae that is killing other species. For me, everything is based in feeling and emotion. I’m a progressive, and I want to change the world — I feel a responsibility to try to do everything I possibly can to make things feel a little better.”
I had no idea that Shailene’s parents were both psychologists. That really does explain so much about her, that’s all I say! I actually like what she says about astrology too, that following astrology gives us permission and helps us know our nature and ourselves more. That’s a very healthy way of looking at it. There’s not much I can do about my neuroses or analytical nature – it’s simply who I am as a Virgo, it’s baked-in. As for what she says about Aaron and how they always would have fallen for each other in any context… lord, I don’t know. She’s a Scorpio, therefore she’s all about the DRAMA. She can’t help it, it’s baked-in.
Covers courtesy of Shape.
Based on past choices do we think this relationship is real or an arrangement? Either way; they are consenting adults. Hope they are honest and happy together.
I don’t know if it’s an arrangement, but I do think all of Aaron Rodgers’ relationships seem kind of try-hard and I question his motives.
He is a serial monogamist
When does lavender bloom again? Mid-June I think. Regardless of intention, I like them as a couple. Low key and not photographed daily. I can’t blame him for wanting out from the Packers either, I have been to Green Bay.
What happened to you in GB?
I grew up and lived in Green Bay until I was 27 – I’m curious what you think is so bad about it? It’s a kind of boring little town. Some people there are small minded with outdated beliefs (that’s not unusual in small towns anywhere unfortunately), but generally it’s a good place and I have fond memories of growing up there. People are friendly, take care of each other, stop to help you change a tire, and work hard. I still visit my family and friends there twice a year and am humbled by the down to Earth people and slower pace of life compared to the big city I live in now. Sorry you seemed to have a bad experience.
We moved to GB in 2004 for a health care system job, and it has been a very easy and pleasant place to raise a family. Very family-friendly, low crime rate. That said, ignorance/bias/prejudice is everywhere, it has no central location. It is small- the metro area is only about 250k, so if that’s your metric, sure, I get it.
I think that the pandemic made (or broke) a lot of relationships. I understand how you could feel that four months during the pandemic is like two years of regular time especially for those in the entertainment industry where separations because of work are common. But I’d be wary because it was a time so outside the norm of our existence that I wouldn’t get engaged until things were back to normal, but that’s just me and I’m not a Scorpio.
It’s now been a year
I hope that Shailene and Aaron are happy together. She gives me white privilege Emma Watson vibes to a lesser degree but a lot of white women are screaming that lately. Watching his family drama and team I know Aaron is stubborn and emotional but I really fi think most pro sport athletes are. I like Aaron and really appreciated how he spoke out about BLM and Colin Kaepernick. I think they both want to be better people and have a positive impact on those around them. And honestly the “beard” talk is so exhausting. **eye roll** If he’s gay and doesn’t want to come out then let it be. Let him live. I think he’s just trying to figure out life and live like the rest of us.
It weirds me out that people believe every other male celeb is actually gay and refuse to come out. Like?? Is it that there are very few ways men are allowed to express themselves that it pings our “gaydar” when they step out? Is it that “accusing” a man of being gay is still something we subconsciously do? I mean I would just say gossip fodder but people rarely speculate women are actually secretly gay. Even in progressive circles it is all men actually being gay.
I agree with you about how the speculation about whether someone is gay or not, often goes overboard. However, there are reasons for some people to believe that Aaron Rodgers is gay. He was in a long-term relationship of some kind with his (then) assistant Kevin Lanflisi a few years back. There’s quite a bit of evidence that points toward the relationship having been a romantic one. Lanflisi was extremely hurt & bitter when Rodgers ended the relationship, and he pretty much came right out & stated that Aaron is gay & refused to come out of the closet (which hurt & angered Lanflisi). (I fell down a rabbit hole one bored night a few years back and read all about it.)
Also – do bi people not exist? Why does it matter who he has dated before? If he’s not comfy going public about his relationship with a man that’s his business, but it doesn’t have much relevance to his public relationships with women
Her parents are school teachers from tiny town in Cali ,she dated a Native American and a Fijian before Aaron where are you getting the white privilege from as she lived for months at DAPL
Her bull about only reading books and not watching tv while at the Emmys. Her claiming that her arrest was the reason people found out about the Dakota Pipeline. And I’ll say that YOU are privileged too. For you to actually sit here and write that because Shaline is not privileged because she was in an intimate relationship with a non-white person shows YOUR privilege and prejudice.
Gonna have to agree with girl_ninja here. That’s like the ever popular reasoning that someone can’t possibly be racist because they “have a black friend.” Simply doesn’t hold water.
No that was her parents and her and her brother were allowed to watch 6 films and that was that and she has talked about it a lot, then she had no house for years.And having to sit in the front yard and hug it out if the had a row
And she was arrested because was busy streaming what eventually turned out to be her arrest that was why she said it
And she was a kid from a small town who did a load of shit roles before she got fired from The OC for not hitting puberty early enough only to be replaced by Spielberg’s neighbors kid
YOUR AN ASSHOLE THAT FAIR ENOUGH
So you don’t like her so privilege for no reason apart from your own bile
Terra
‘Gonna have to agree with girl_ninja here. That’s like the ever popular reasoning that someone can’t possibly be racist because they “have a black friend.” Simply doesn’t hold water.’
give me some examples of her racism?
@Humbugged
I didn’t say she was racist. I said that your reasoning of why she couldn’t be genuinely setting off feelings of white privilege in girl_ninja was flawed.
Just because she dated someone of a different race or spent time protesting the pipeline (more than most people do, to be fair) doesn’t mean that she can’t be coming at issues from a place of privilege. It also doesn’t mean she is. We just don’t know.
I was using the well known ‘but…my close friend is black’ excuse as a comparison so as to point out the fallacy of logic in your comment. Another good example is ‘but…I have daughters.’ Just like a man having a daughter doesn’t mean he doesn’t hold misogynistic leanings doesn’t mean that someone can’t hold racist views while dating someone of another race doesn’t mean that volunteering makes someone incapable of being a pretentious snob. X plus Y doesn’t always equal Z.
THAT’s what I was saying. Again, WE JUST DON’T KNOW. Not me, not girl_ninja, and not you, either.
Yes you did and you are still doing it without any evidence .
Where is your evidence that she has done something wrong ? Show me ?
And where was girl_ninja evidence that she is using ‘white privilege’ ?
In her head because she has an axe to grind !!!!
@Humbugged You can call me names but that doesn’t change my thoughts about Shailene. She’s privileged and so are you.
@Humbugged
Okay, I’m not doing this. Go shout at someone else.
And you are still a judgmental ahole for no reason
You and your mate and doing a fine job at that
So no evidence just you and your buddies random meanderings then
Let’s just ignore the “I have a black friend” comment you made here for a second (you may want to reflect on that one rather than just react).
Yes, she’s done good things. That doesn’t mean she has no privilege. Maybe she’s using that privilege for good (the DAPL), but her comment about “no one” knowing about it is a bit tone deaf, to be sure. Everyone says dumb things sometimes, maybe she recognizes that, maybe she doesn’t.
I would even say that she probably knows that she has privilege. So whatever you’re arguing really doesn’t hold much water.
The minute she got out she was forever mentioning the other people who were detained with her and how she was lucky to get off .The reason she was arrested was because she was streaming the protest to 40,000 so yes she got picked up for publicity .She only got out was the fact her mother was there with her
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3NMWHm7rro
You need to get another hobby. People can have differing opinions and from my observations mine is that she is privileged.
Maybe get some of your own where everybody is a racist unless you say so
Once again what privilege ? Stuff that you don’t like ? Sounds more like your own shit not hers
Hello, chiming in late with a reminder that white privilege is defined as the “inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice”
So merely by being a white person in America – a country where white people dominate positions of power and face fewer barriers to success and participation in public life – Shailene holds white privilege.
Doesn’t mean she’s racist. Doesn’t mean she’s a jerk. Doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced challenges. Just means that she is white in a country that systematically prefers and rewards white people. Having privilege isn’t an indictment of your character – it’s how you use it to dismantle oppressive systems that matters.
@Humbugged Oh dear, I fear you don’t realize the other side long left the battlefield and you’re shouting in an empty field while everyone else went on with their lives.
“Her bull about only reading books and not watching tv while at the Emmys. Her claiming that her arrest was the reason people found out about the Dakota Pipeline.”
I didn’t think white privilege = arrogant, insufferable & boorish. Sure the two can co-exist but one doesn’t necessarily equal the other. Those seem like just examples of her being self-absorbed and a bit snobby.
Her parents would only let them watch a few things and then she had no house for years so books and music were her thing
Being self-absorbed is a tenet of privilege though, no? Not having to or desiring to think about the experience of others (specifically minorities).
Her parents banning her and her brother from watching TV is somehow her fault ?,and they were taking them out to the woods and the beach where her thing with the eco system comes from
That’s a good point, Drea. I don’t think self-absorption is exclusively the domain of those with white privilege, but a lack of regard or empathy for others makes it easier to ignore that you benefit from it. I am just wary of WP being used to criticize someone out of distaste. It waters down the message that WP is somewhat inherent, good and bad people have benefited from it (you don’t have to be a Goop-type or a Karen to have WP). Does that make sense?
scorpios are not about the drama, but they are emotional and do feel things deeply.
Scorpio here and we def don’t like drama.
The only thing I have to say about astrology is this: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves.”
Anything else will just get me into an internet shouting match and I simply don’t have the energy for that today.
YES
I disagree so much with this astrology rationale. I think it’s actually a very good excuse for people being shitty and justifying it by saying “oh well there’s nothing I can do, I’m an Aries”
awful
I don’t mind people having fun with it, but a lot of people don’t even try to change or act better just because they have that excuse
YES! 😉
Thanks for picking up the torch for me. I just don’t have in it me today, thanks to my neighbors set off fireworks until five AM.
With you! I’ve had people flat out tell me they won’t be friends with me because I’m a Virgo (apparently we’re terrible?).
No real loss there for me, tbh.
However, I would move in with Aaron if he’d let me!
I agree with this!
I just can’t with this woman. She seems insufferable.
ok – one point on the ‘we were destined for each other’ thing and moved in quickly. My experience is that this can also be toxic romance and indicates a lack of boundaries and boundary setting. If someone is so keen to move in with you immediately, why is that? Why no slow burn? What’s the impetus for doing this? In my case it was the beginning of a manipulative toxic relationship that lasted 13 years (about 10 years too long). I was so in, it took a long time to get out. Ending a relationship is so much easier when you don’t live with them, and having someone locked down ASAP can be a warning sign of potential abuse and toxicity.
YMMV.
Because he was just about to be living in the NFL bubble and they wanted to be together .It took months for anybody to notice they were together
She sounds like one of those people who anoints herself a savior. This singular “I want to save the _________”. Not “I want to help” or “I want to do my part”. That’s always red flag language for me because it centers that person over the need and casts them as the hero.
I’m sure she’s a nice enough person and wants to do good, and is trying to. That said I have never understood her success. I find her acting quite stale, in every thing she’s done that I’ve seen (the first Divergent movie, The Descendants, that show with Reese Witherspoon). She doesn’t have much charisma, to me. She’s OK, that’s about it.
My sisters are both Scorpios and are very, very different. Though I’m a Sagittarius and I do kind of fit the usual description. Astrology is fun. I wouldn’t rely on it.
As for Aaron Rodgers and their relationship, good luck to them.
totally agree – my feelings about her are the same as my feelings about granola – crunchy, dry, seems healthy enough but not the snack I’m reaching for first
Excellent post. So amazingly worded.
She has a lovely beard and so does he….honestly it’s not even a joke anymore
I’m rolling my eyes at the juvenile ‘beard’ comments on every Aaron Rodgers post. This isn’t the 1950s. If you want to judge his relationship, stop hiding behind outdated terms and make the accusation. Otherwise, stay out of the man’s pants.