Shailene Woodley Says Shoveling 'Horse S---' Was One Way She Coped with Depression After Aaron Rodgers Breakup

Mar. 15, 2025

Shailene Woodley on June 6, 2024.Photo:Corine Solberg/Getty

Corine Solberg/Getty

WhenShailene Woodleyslipped into a depression around the time of her breakup withAaron Rodgers, her best friend stepped in to help.The actress, 33, isOutsidemagazine’sOutsider of the Year, opening up about her passion for environmental activism for a cover interview conducted while on a camping trip in California.Atone point in the wide-ranging conversation, Woodley recalled a “really awful, traumatic thing” that “happened in early 2022,” as the reporter linked the unspecific comment to the time she and NFL quarterback Rodgers ended their engagement.“I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment,” recalled Woodley, adding, “I knew I was depressed when I looked at a tree and felt nothing. That was the lowest low of my life.“Her best friend, the stylist Kris Zero, helped her stay active to boost her morale — even though “sometimes I was so angry at her” for it, theDivergentactress admitted.”… We’d go surf, and for 10 minutes that day I thought life could be okay again,” she recalled. “Then the depression would come back and she’d go, ‘We’re volunteering at the horse ranch!’ And we’d find a random f—ing horse ranch and we’d clean up horse s—. We’d clean hooves and brush the horses, and for 20 minutes that day I thought life could be okay again.“Shailene Woodley; Aaron Rodgers.VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Ilya S. Savenok/Getty"And then the depression came back,” continued Woodley, “and she’d wake me up the next morning and go, ‘Let’s go on a hike and bring trash bags and clean up trash!’ ”According toOutside, Woodley’s depression began to dissipate after about six months of that.In February 2022, PEOPLE confirmed that Woodley and Rodgers, 41, called off their engagement just over a year after making their relationship public. The on-offcouple then broke up again that April.Rodgers, in a February 2022 Instagram post,thanked theBig Little Liesactress for the “incredible kindnessyou show me and everyone you meet, and for showing me what unconditional love looks like.“Shailene Woodley on Dec. 2, 2022.Mike Coppola/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Woodley, whose parents are psychologists, previously discussed “going through the darkest, hardest time in my life,” which happened while she was filming her drama seriesThree Women, making the production “hard to film” for her.“It was winter in New York, and my personal life was s—, so it felt like a big pain bubble for eight months,” she toldPORTERin January 2023. “I was so grateful that at least I could go to work and cry and process my emotions through my character.”

WhenShailene Woodleyslipped into a depression around the time of her breakup withAaron Rodgers, her best friend stepped in to help.

The actress, 33, isOutsidemagazine’sOutsider of the Year, opening up about her passion for environmental activism for a cover interview conducted while on a camping trip in California.

Atone point in the wide-ranging conversation, Woodley recalled a “really awful, traumatic thing” that “happened in early 2022,” as the reporter linked the unspecific comment to the time she and NFL quarterback Rodgers ended their engagement.

“I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment,” recalled Woodley, adding, “I knew I was depressed when I looked at a tree and felt nothing. That was the lowest low of my life.”

Her best friend, the stylist Kris Zero, helped her stay active to boost her morale — even though “sometimes I was so angry at her” for it, theDivergentactress admitted.

“… We’d go surf, and for 10 minutes that day I thought life could be okay again,” she recalled. “Then the depression would come back and she’d go, ‘We’re volunteering at the horse ranch!’ And we’d find a random f—ing horse ranch and we’d clean up horse s—. We’d clean hooves and brush the horses, and for 20 minutes that day I thought life could be okay again.”

Shailene Woodley; Aaron Rodgers.VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

“And then the depression came back,” continued Woodley, “and she’d wake me up the next morning and go, ‘Let’s go on a hike and bring trash bags and clean up trash!’ ”

According toOutside, Woodley’s depression began to dissipate after about six months of that.

In February 2022, PEOPLE confirmed that Woodley and Rodgers, 41, called off their engagement just over a year after making their relationship public. The on-offcouple then broke up again that April.

Rodgers, in a February 2022 Instagram post,thanked theBig Little Liesactress for the “incredible kindnessyou show me and everyone you meet, and for showing me what unconditional love looks like.”

Shailene Woodley on Dec. 2, 2022.Mike Coppola/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Woodley, whose parents are psychologists, previously discussed “going through the darkest, hardest time in my life,” which happened while she was filming her drama seriesThree Women, making the production “hard to film” for her.

“It was winter in New York, and my personal life was s—, so it felt like a big pain bubble for eight months,” she toldPORTERin January 2023. “I was so grateful that at least I could go to work and cry and process my emotions through my character.”

source: people.com