Shailene Woodley Explains Why She & Aaron Rodgers Announced Their Engagement the Way They Did

Shailene Woodley is opening up about her surprise romance.

The 29-year-old Big Little Lies actress got candid in an interview with THR.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Shailene Woodley

Click inside to read more…

On a debilitating health condition, which she rarely discusses publicly: “It was pretty debilitating. I said no to a lot of projects, not because I wanted to but because I physically couldn’t participate in them. And I definitely suffered a lot more than I had to because I didn’t take care of myself. The self-inflicted pressure of not wanting to be helped or taken care of created more physical unrest throughout those years…I’m on the tail end of it, which is very exciting, but it’s an interesting thing, going through something so physically dominating while also having so many people pay attention to the choices you make, the things you say, what you do, what you look like. It spun me out for a while. You feel so incredibly isolated and alone. Unless someone can see that you have a broken arm or a broken leg, it’s really difficult for people to relate to the pain that you’re experiencing when it’s a silent, quiet and invisible pain.”

On living life honestly: “It’s just easier, in my opinion, to be open. I really don’t feel there’s any need to put on a face or be anything other than who you are because otherwise it’s exhausting. You always f–king remember the truth. … It’s really hard to keep up with the lies or the fabrications or the masks that we put on out of self-preservation. The only person that ends up coming back to haunt is ourselves.”

On her engagement announcement with fiance Aaron Rodgers: “When we announced that we were engaged, we wanted to do that only because we didn’t want someone else to do it before we did. And we didn’t do it for months and months after we had become engaged, but the reaction to it was really a lot, and so we were like, ‘Let’s just politely decline [to talk about the relationship] for a little while and live in our little bubble.’”

She recently hinted more details about the start of their relationship.

For more from Shailene Woodley, head to HollywoodReporter.com.