Danica Patrick is one of the most successful women in the history of her sport — holding the honor of being the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race. With those kinds of stats, it's no surprise fans want to know more about the model and former racer.
Patrick — who has made appearances in 2019's Charlie's Angels, CSI: NY, The Simpsons, and Chopped, to name a few — has always been pretty open about her love life, not shying away from speaking about her new loves and painful heartbreaks.
Known for her good looks in addition to her race car skills, Patrick has a pretty star-studded dating history. The record-setting driver has been linked to fellow racer Ricky Stenhouse Jr., NFL star Aaron Rodgers, and businessman Carter Comstock.
Paul Edward Hospenthal
Patrick met physical therapist Paul Edward Hospenthal when she visited his office in 2002 for help with a yoga injury. Hospenthal, who is 17 years her senior, proposed to the athlete — voted NASCAR Nationwide Series' Most Popular Driver in 2012 — on Thanksgiving Day in 2004.
The couple tied the knot in Arizona in 2005, and were married until 2012. Just one day after the pair's seventh wedding anniversary, Patrick announced their split, posting on Facebook, "I am sad to inform my fans that after 7 years, Paul and I have decided to amicably end our marriage."
On January 3, 2013, Patrick filed for divorce. "My marriage is irretrievably broken and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation," she stated in her court filing, according to documents obtained by Sporting News.
The documents also revealed that the couple had a prenup, and so neither would require alimony. Their divorce was finalized in April 2013.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Following her divorce, Patrick began dating NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The pair were often seen photographed together, but the first official confirmation was at a March 2013 race at Bristol Motor Speedway when Stenhouse told the crowd, "Sorry guys, she's taken."
The couple, who often raced against each other, dated for five years. In the 2017 Epix documentary Danica, Patrick gushed about her relationship with Stenhouse, saying, "The relationship has really evolved into this really comfortable space where we're ... just really happy. It's really straightforward and simple. And we don't argue."
The Pretty Intense author also spoke about opening up to wanting children since being with Ricky, noting it was "something he has always wanted." The racer said she even had her eggs frozen, while also noting, "Ricky's well aware that I'm not having a family unless we're married in any capacity."
However, the couple called it quits just months later in December 2017.
Aaron Rodgers
Patrick met NFL star Aaron Rodgers at the 2012 ESPY Awards, but the two didn't confirm their relationship until January 2018. In September of that year, the former NASCAR driver gushed to Us Weekly about her beau.
"You can rely on yourself or you can also rely on those closest to you that are honest. Not people that want to tell you what you want to hear, but people that are gonna tell you what you need to hear and be honest with you," she said.
Though she praised Rodgers for his support, Patrick — who is super close with her family — also told the publication that it was difficult dating someone who did not have a good relationship with his family. The New York Jets player has a long history of difficulties with his family, including feuding with his brother, The Bachelorette season 12 winner, Jordan Rodgers.
The two split in July 2020, with Patrick opening up about the heartbreak while appearing on the April 12, 2021 episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls. When Grylls asked Patrick about "hard breakups" being in the public eye, the former professional driver really got vulnerable.
"I think we learn the most about ourselves through relationships, but there's nothing like heartbreak to really throw you in the deep end of that," she said, adding, "But I've learned a lot, and as broken open as I was on the sad end, I have felt so much joy in so many more instances and so many more unlikely places than I ever have, so it's like my heart got broken open to both ends of the spectrum."
Carter Comstock
Patrick went Instagram official with Carter Comstock, the co-founder of the meal-prep company Freshly in April 2021, posting a photo of Comstock kissing her on the cheek, with the caption, "Beach workouts are fun for one, but better with you... 💞."
The pair actually met because of Comstock's meal subscription service. They were first introduced thanks to both investing with Beam, a wellness brand that specializes in CBD products. The two initially took their relationship slowly throughout 2021, but "decided to be exclusive" in April, a source told Us Weekly.
That same month, Patrick gushed to Extra about Comstock, sharing, "I just always imagined how great it would be to find someone to sit on the couch and talk with for hours, and that's just what we do."
Patrick and Comstock called it quits after nearly one year together in March 2022, with the retired racer telling People, "We were together for a while, and unfortunately it didn't work, but it doesn't mean that it wasn't a really fun time and we didn't do a lot of really amazing things. It doesn't mean that there's something wrong with either of us. It's just a matter of finding someone who you can stand the test of time with."
Mystery Man
Patrick seemingly showed off her new love interest in an Instagram post shared on September 5. In a carousel of photos shared from Burning Man — a week-long desert event in Nevada — Patrick could be seen popping her leg in the air as she smooched a dark-haired man dressed in a straw hat, v-neck T-shirt, and white pants, accessorized with a scarf and dusty black boots, just like hers.
Another image in the carousel showed them leaning over to kiss each other while sitting in suspended chairs. Patrick captioned the post, "In dust we trust. 🌪️ • That week of the year 80,000 of us drive out to the middle of nowhere Nevada to live in an alternate reality where the currency is hugs, love and helping eachother. ❤️"
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