logo
Danica Patrick rips into ex Aaron Rodgers: 'Leaves a trail of blood'

Danica Patrick rips into ex Aaron Rodgers: 'Leaves a trail of blood'

National Post26-05-2025
Danica Patrick is opening up more about her high-profile relationship with NFL legend Aaron Rodgers.
Article content
Article content
Patrick, 43, a former race car driver, dated Rodgers, 41, the future hall of fame quarterback, from January 2018 to July 2020 before Rodgers called it off.
Article content
Talking on the Sage Steele Show podcast, Patrick said the 'most amount of pain' she's had in her life was when she broke up with Rodgers.
Article content
Article content
'Because it was sudden, it felt like. It was my life. So like when you live with somebody, it's your whole life,' she said, according to People magazine.
Article content
'And because the nature of the relationship was emotionally abusive, so that wore me down to nothing.'
Article content
Patrick wasn't done.
Article content
'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.'
Article content
A representative for Rodgers did not respond on the weekend to People's request for comment .
Article content
Despite how the relationship went, Patrick said she has no regrets because it 'led to the next thing.'
Article content
'It gave me the greatest gift, the greatest gift, which is myself. It gave me the greatest gift of how much I needed to show up for myself and take care of myself.'
Article content
The pair initially met at the 2012 ESPYs and stayed in touch until dating in 2018. They even bought a home in Malibu together.
Article content
'I was dating Danica and that relationship was great for me because she is on her own journey and spirituality is important to her. We both were finding our way, learning about different things (and) practicing meditation techniques,' Rodgers said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

This Toronto man films his walks around the city for YouTube. He makes ‘well over six figures'
This Toronto man films his walks around the city for YouTube. He makes ‘well over six figures'

CTV News

time4 hours ago

  • CTV News

This Toronto man films his walks around the city for YouTube. He makes ‘well over six figures'

Jonathan Hicks better known as "Johnny Strides" is pictured alongside the TORONTO sign by Nathan Phillips Square (Left: Youtube/JohnnyStrides. Right: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler) Jonathan Hicks spends his days walking Toronto streets with a camera. In just six years, he says the work has made him 'well over six figures,' turning a side hustle into a full-time job. The 44-year-old, better known online as Johnny Strides, has built a YouTube channel with over 136,000 subscribers and more than 46 million views, filming daily walking tours throughout the city. His success comes as Toronto's labour market grows more precarious, with some residents turning to unconventional work to supplement traditional jobs. The challenge is even sharper for young people as Ontario's unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 recently reached 15.8 per cent in June — roughly double the province's overall rate. 'I was working in insurance... doing a global program underwriting (for) big multinational companies,' Hicks said. 'Just before the pandemic hit, I got recruited by another company to do the same job, basically more money, more vacation — and my YouTube channel was just getting monetized.' He says it wasn't long before that new job quickly turned sour. 'I switched jobs and the new job was basically horrible. I went from a great company working there for five years, to an absolute dumpster fire,' he said. 'At that same time the pandemic hit, my views were going up and I remember one month I made $1,500 just doing it part time.' Looking back, he says 'it was just the perfect storm' to pursue this career full time. An unconventional career switch Hicks launched Johnny Strides in 2018 after buying a GoPro. He says early timelapse videos showing the city gave way to narrated walking tours, often running 30 to 45 minutes. 'I focus mainly on walking, cycling, transit videos and livestreams in the city,' Hicks wrote to his YouTube page. 'There's no shortage of content as I record in all weather conditions... morning, day and night.' He says his income from YouTube now far exceeds what he made in insurance but still admits 'Toronto is stupidly expensive.' 'I do have a rent control apartment, so I consider myself kind of lucky that I'm paying $1,100 a month,' he said. 'In terms of the risk management going full time on YouTube, it wasn't that difficult of a decision... because it's a pretty modest rent.' In Toronto, the average household income sits at $129,000, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. While some creators may not earn as much as much as Hicks, experts say many still put in countless hours to support their entrepreneurial gig. A Statistics Canada survey found that most content creators reported being 'de facto entrepreneurs.' While Hicks says he sometimes works 16-hour days, the survey reveals that on average, respondents spend 15.5 hours per week. Walking through snowstorms and burnout The job doesn't just come with ups but also its fair share of challenges. Hicks recalls filming in a blizzard from Yonge and Eglinton to Dufferin, when his waterproof boots failed. 'My feet were just frozen and soaking… it was way below zero,' he said. 'It looks like a disaster zone. Yet I had thousands of viewers tuned in at once. So there was something exhilarating about it at the same time.' It's those exhilarating moments that Jenna Jacobson, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University says form 'parasocial relationships' with viewers. 'Those videos that are more real, raw and relatable are the ones that often will garner more attention... because it connects to people' she said. She explains that the flipside of that relationship is oftentimes burnout. 'Burnout is very real amongst content creators because there is this constant pressure to be on,' she said. 'Content creators are constantly having to labor at figuring out the best practices to improve their audience engagement. Hicks too acknowledges that it can be difficult to create fresh content. 'I don't want to repackage the same thing over and over again,' he said. 'The good thing is we have four seasons... (and) there's always changes being made.' In his most popular video, he garnered over 2.3 million views featuring a walk with the creator of Tiny Tiny homes Toronto, Ryan Donais. In that instance, both Hicks and Donais walked from the St Lawrence Market over to Yonge and Front Street to preview an early version of the tiny home prototype. 'Enough to keep going' The rise of creators like Hicks mirrors a larger shift in how Torontonians are earning a living. 'The job market is particularly tough right now… unemployment has been increasing in Canada, broadly,' said Obeid Ur Rehman, assistant professor of economics at Toronto Metropolitan University. 'This side hustle sort of concept is very prominent. Having something that's unconventional, that you have some flexibility over is increasing.' Rehman notes that while the work can be rewarding, it comes with risks. 'The platforms and the algorithm — trends change suddenly. As a result, income can decline very suddenly,' he said. Hicks says he's aware of the gamble, but for now, he's sticking with YouTube. 'Not having a boss and working for yourself is pretty awesome,' he said. 'I love the community. That in itself is rewarding enough to keep going.'

‘Well over six figures': How this Toronto man built a career touring the GTA on camera
‘Well over six figures': How this Toronto man built a career touring the GTA on camera

CTV News

time5 hours ago

  • CTV News

‘Well over six figures': How this Toronto man built a career touring the GTA on camera

Jonathan Hicks better known as "Johnny Strides" is pictured alongside the TORONTO sign by Nathan Phillips Square (Left: Youtube/JohnnyStrides. Right: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler) Jonathan Hicks spends his days walking Toronto streets with a camera. In just six years, he says the work has made him 'well over six figures,' turning a side hustle into a full-time job. The 44-year-old, better known online as Johnny Strides, has built a YouTube channel with over 136,000 subscribers and more than 46 million views, filming daily walking tours throughout the city. His success comes as Toronto's labour market grows more precarious, with some residents turning to unconventional work to supplement traditional jobs. The challenge is even sharper for young people as Ontario's unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 recently reached 15.8 per cent in June — roughly double the province's overall rate. 'I was working in insurance... doing a global program underwriting (for) big multinational companies,' Hicks said. 'Just before the pandemic hit, I got recruited by another company to do the same job, basically more money, more vacation — and my YouTube channel was just getting monetized.' He says it wasn't long before that new job quickly turned sour. 'I switched jobs and the new job was basically horrible. I went from a great company working there for five years, to an absolute dumpster fire,' he said. 'At that same time the pandemic hit, my views were going up and I remember one month I made $1,500 just doing it part time.' Looking back, he says 'it was just the perfect storm' to pursue this career full time. An unconventional career switch Hicks launched Johnny Strides in 2018 after buying a GoPro. He says early timelapse videos showing the city gave way to narrated walking tours, often running 30 to 45 minutes. 'I focus mainly on walking, cycling, transit videos and livestreams in the city,' Hicks wrote to his YouTube page. 'There's no shortage of content as I record in all weather conditions... morning, day and night.' He says his income from YouTube now far exceeds what he made in insurance but still admits 'Toronto is stupidly expensive.' 'I do have a rent control apartment, so I consider myself kind of lucky that I'm paying $1,100 a month,' he said. 'In terms of the risk management going full time on YouTube, it wasn't that difficult of a decision... because it's a pretty modest rent.' In Toronto, the average household income sits at $129,000, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. While some creators may not earn as much as much as Hicks, experts say many still put in countless hours to support their entrepreneurial gig. A Statistics Canada survey found that most content creators reported being 'de facto entrepreneurs.' While Hicks says he sometimes works 16-hour days, the survey reveals that on average, respondents spend 15.5 hours per week. Walking through snowstorms and burnout The job doesn't just come with ups but also its fair share of challenges. Hicks recalls filming in a blizzard from Yonge and Eglinton to Dufferin, when his waterproof boots failed. 'My feet were just frozen and soaking… it was way below zero,' he said. 'It looks like a disaster zone. Yet I had thousands of viewers tuned in at once. So there was something exhilarating about it at the same time.' It's those exhilarating moments that Jenna Jacobson, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University says form 'parasocial relationships' with viewers. 'Those videos that are more real, raw and relatable are the ones that often will garner more attention... because it connects to people' she said. She explains that the flipside of that relationship is oftentimes burnout. 'Burnout is very real amongst content creators because there is this constant pressure to be on,' she said. 'Content creators are constantly having to labor at figuring out the best practices to improve their audience engagement. Hicks too acknowledges that it can be difficult to create fresh content. 'I don't want to repackage the same thing over and over again,' he said. 'The good thing is we have four seasons... (and) there's always changes being made.' In his most popular video, he garnered over 2.3 million views featuring a walk with the creator of Tiny Tiny homes Toronto, Ryan Donais. In that instance, both Hicks and Donais walked from the St Lawrence Market over to Yonge and Front Street to preview an early version of the tiny home prototype. 'Enough to keep going' The rise of creators like Hicks mirrors a larger shift in how Torontonians are earning a living. 'The job market is particularly tough right now… unemployment has been increasing in Canada, broadly,' said Obeid Ur Rehman, assistant professor of economics at Toronto Metropolitan University. 'This side hustle sort of concept is very prominent. Having something that's unconventional, that you have some flexibility over is increasing.' Rehman notes that while the work can be rewarding, it comes with risks. 'The platforms and the algorithm — trends change suddenly. As a result, income can decline very suddenly,' he said. Hicks says he's aware of the gamble, but for now, he's sticking with YouTube. 'Not having a boss and working for yourself is pretty awesome,' he said. 'I love the community. That in itself is rewarding enough to keep going.'

Remake, reboot, recycle: Why Hollywood will never stop giving you the same stories
Remake, reboot, recycle: Why Hollywood will never stop giving you the same stories

CBC

time8 hours ago

  • CBC

Remake, reboot, recycle: Why Hollywood will never stop giving you the same stories

Social Sharing The Naked Gun. 28 Days Later. I Know What You Did Last Summer. Jurassic Park. Thought these are all titles from 2025, you could be forgiven for thinking they came from Moviefone. This year's summer blockbuster season has been dominated by nostalgic fare: reboots, remakes and sequels. And while the retold story has been an element of the movie business going back to its earliest days, studios seem to be cashing in more than ever before — and audiences are buying in. From Lilo & Stitch becoming the year's first billion-dollar box office earner, to Happy Gilmore smashing Netflix audience records (47 million watched it on the streaming service in the first three days it was available), to King of the Hill clocking in as Disney's biggest adult animated premiere in five years, the desire for old stories made new seems to have never been higher. "We all look back with, you know, rose-coloured glasses on the times we grew up in as better," Freakier Friday director Nisha Ganatra explained to CBC News in a recent interview. "Right now especially, the world is a little bit of an unsure place. And I think that the comfort of these movies and that collective feeling of togetherness we got when we watch these movies … it's why people are going back to theatres." WATCH | The comfort of remakes: Freakier Friday director explains why sequels and remakes hit so hard today 10 days ago A return to the well Hollywood's affection for recycled and rehashed stories started right alongside Hollywood itself: going as far back as Georges Méliès' L'Arroseur from 1896, a remake of the previous year's L'Arroseur arrosé. And 1903's The Great Train Robbery was infamously recreated in an essentially a shot-for-shot remake the year after, then numerous times after that. And the trend of journalists pointing out remakes is nearly as old as the remakes themselves. "Remaking old films is really old hat for the cinema people," read a 1937 article from the New York Times. "Although the screen has only recently emerged from its swaddling clothes and managed to crawl just about halfway into its metaphorical knee-pants, it already belies its years and even casts fond, reminiscent glances backward." "More often than not these yearnings for the past have been prompted by pecuniary rather than esthetic motives. Depending upon one's point of view, the studios may be regarded either as taking critical stock of themselves or as cashing in on their old preferred. The latter view seems more consistent with the facts." Other than the flowery language, the complaint that a given year was overloaded with remakes sounds like it could have come from today. Why director Dean DeBlois is 'not a fan' of live-action remakes 2 months ago 'They often miss the soul' "I am not a fan. I continue to not be a fan of live-action remakes because they often miss the soul," explained director Dean DeBlois, despite releasing a live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon earlier this year. "Too often they feel like they are lesser versions of the animated movie to me." So why have remakes and reboots become the dominant fare of 2025's movie slate? According to ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, it comes down to dollars and cents. The summer blockbuster has been a tentpole for Hollywood going back decades; Dergarabedian notes that it generates roughly forty per cent of North America's total box office. So success often depends on studios launching their surest bets during this "play it safe" period where they have the best chance of satisfying the widest-possible audience. That, Dergarabedian says, is not a recipe for originality. WATCH | Remakes are a form of insurance during summer blockbuster season: Summer movie remakes, sequels considered box office 'insurance' 3 days ago "As much as so many people decry the lack of originality in movies, when you look at the top 10 movies of the year, generally speaking, there might be one or two out of the top ten that are true original films," he said. "That right there tells you why studios, marketers, PR folks, advertisers — they love the tried and true and those known brands." Instead, it was a recipe that led to films built around spectacle and excitement, with studios relying on huge franchises and superhero fanaticism to draw in ever-higher box office receipts. But as recently as 2023, a string of blockbuster bombs suggested audiences were no longer as interested in that fare. Chasing those audiences, Dergaradedian says, meant studios started making movies that might appeal to even wider demographics. And over the last two and a half years, he says that's led to PG movies out-grossing PG-13 movies for the first time. That spurred a return to films and shows that people remembered from their own childhoods, he said. Film titles that were already thought of as wholesome and accessible, or were remade to be as inoffensive as possible, as with Lilo & Stitch, a live-action remake with a sanitized ending that drew wide criticism. It was a move foreshadowed by Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, who told the LA Times ahead of the film's premiere that changes were made to the original story because "to do the kind of box office that I think we're going to do, you need to get everybody." WATCH | What caused a summer of box office flops? Summer blockbusters are supposed to be back, but so far it's a season of flops 2 years ago The nostalgia impulse Robert Thompson, Syracuse University's professor of television and popular culture, says the desire to return to familiar stories far predates movies; as evidenced by The Odyssey being viewed as a sequel to The Iliad, and both being retellings of ancient Greek myth. Even genre itself is a larger extension of the remake, according to Thompson. Likening it to the auto industry, he says stories — like cars — historically couldn't be made for each individual audience member's tastes. Making narratives similar enough to fit a genre was the solution. "You're not going to make each driver an individual automobile. You've got to churn those things off of an assembly line," he said. "And that's what genre is all about … getting something that works and keep doing it. Over and over again." The problem is what Thompson believes is potentially driving this current cycle of remakes and reboots: A reactionary shift to the digital age's fracturing of pop culture. As the internet and streaming democratized entertainment, we went from consuming media from a few dominant viewpoints to a landscape full of competing productions giving voices to demographics that never had them before. That complicated what sorts of stories and stances were viewed as right or acceptable, Thompson says. The ensuing fear and discomfort some felt fed a desire to return to a simpler time; to recreate a media landscape they viewed as preserving traditional social norms, "because we celebrate this traditional, fictionally perfect past." He suggests our current glut of rose-coloured stories celebrating that past has reverberated through media. "In the sense of, 'Let's just go back to when things were simple. Let's go back to when things were good. Let's make art great again.' "

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store