How Aaron Hernandez's double life spiraled fatally out of control

Since his death, there has also been constant speculation that Aaron was gay and tried desperately to keep this part of his life secret.

“I asked Aaron if he was gay,” Jonathan wrote, recalling telling his younger brother that he loved him no matter what. “'Don't ever ask me that again,' Aaron said. 'If you say that again, I'll fucking kill you.'”

Shayanna said in 2020 that although she had a child with Aaron, “I still can't tell you what he was doing inside.”

“If he felt that way or if he felt the urge, [to be with men]I wish someone had told me,” she said on Good morning America about the high school sweetheart she wanted to marry. “I wish he had told me, otherwise I wouldn't have loved him.”

While Aaron's story is compelling at first glance, it's the unanswerable questions about his true self that have spurred a cottage industry trying to understand him.

“If we're talking about authenticity, double lives or secrets, he has no idea who he is,” Zicherman told E!. “He was called up to a championship team where he's expected to be a man.”