Danica Patrick once recounted an unforgettable moment during her relationship with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers when she got to meet with the Dalai Lama. The moment came during a trip to Dharamsala, India, when Patrick and Rodgers, then a high-profile celebrity couple, visited the country.
During their three years together, Rodgers and Patrick were one of the most talked-about sports couples in America. Their travels and support for each other’s careers gained massive attention on social media and made them a fan favorite.
Danica Patrick’s Adventures: From NASCAR Tracks to Tibetan Temples
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live six years ago, Patrick explained how the couple once found themselves in a special room with the spiritual leader during their visit to India. Despite the solemn setting, the mood quickly turned a bit awkward when Patrick showed the Dalai Lama videos of her NASCAR crashes, which left the monk in shock.
Patrick said on the show, “We had a monk with us the whole time, a Buddhist monk for a whole week. He traveled from L.A., and we literally went all around the world. I was showing him some videos, and I was like Oh, this is an interesting one. It was a picture of crashes. Everybody loves crashes. So I showed it to the Lama. And he was like Oh, you should show his holiness this, he would love it. So I was like, all right, this is going to be awkward.”
Patrick added, “In the meeting with His Holiness. Oh, check me out crashing. So I showed it to him, and he kind of handed it back to me. But then later that night, Lama told me they watched more of the video and he thought that it was really, really, really scary and crazy, what I did.”
Beyond her meeting with the Dalai Lama, Patrick revealed the struggle she faced when cheering for her then-boyfriend Rodgers, a Green Bay Packers quarterback. She explained to Kimmel, “The hardest thing is I grew up right on the state line of Wisconsin. I was born in Wisconsin, but we lived in Illinois, so my dad grew up with all Packers fans. What he says is I’m not against the Packers, I’m against the Packers fans. So I don’t know what that really means because now I’m a Packers fan. I guess we’ll have to talk about that.”
The couple made their relationship public after Rodgers was seen giving Patrick a kiss before her final NASCAR race. They went on to date for two years, calling it quits in July 2020.