Alex Rodriguez Thinks He'll 'Make a Wonderful Partner or Husband' After Learning from His 'Biggest Mistakes'

"It was the most embarrassing moment of my career," Rodriguez says of his 2014 suspension from the MLB for performance enhancing drugs

Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez. Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty

Alex Rodriguez is opening up about what he's learned from past mistakes in life and love.

The 47-year-old former MLB star sat down with host Chris Wallace for the HBO Max show Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, and Rodriguez reflected on what he's learned since his days in the league.

Wallace, 74, asked Rodriguez how he sees himself as a romantic partner. "Do you think that you're good husband material? Or do you think that honestly you just like the chase?"

Rodriguez responded, "I think when you look at my life, Chris, I mentioned when I was 15 years old ... I think Sports Illustrated called me a top player in the country. And at that time, I was Alex Rodriguez. And then somewhere along the way, at 24, I get a $200 million dollar contract, and probably, I lost my way a little bit. I became A-Rod."

The difference between Rodriguez and his A-Rod alter-ego has a lot to do with his suspension from the league in 2014 for steroid use, the former Yankee said.

"It was the most embarrassing moment of my career," he told Wallace. "And it was a mistake that I have now forgiven myself [for] but it took me a while. And Chris, it took a lot of turning the lens inward. And doing a lot of therapy and understanding some of the mistakes and why I was making them how it ties into my childhood."

Los Angeles Dodgers v Boston Red Sox, World Series game 2, Boston, USA - 24 Oct 2018
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Now that the World Series champ has had almost a decade to reflect on that "mistake," he feels he's grown from the consequences. "When I think about it, those mistakes are the biggest gift and the biggest curse of my life."

"And I think about that every single day, that I did that to myself," he said. "And I hope that because of that mistake, the lesson is I get to be a better father, a better partner, a better friend, a better son. And hopefully other players can learn from my mistakes."

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Rodriguez thinks "it's the same difference between" who he was "pre-suspension and post-suspension." He explained: "I think pre-suspension, if you asked me what winning looks like, I would have said big contracts, home runs, World Series; you know, nice cars, women."

However, after he was caught using performance enhancing drugs, Rodriguez said he began to "look at more of the team building, being a great father, being a son and being a friend, high character, loyalty, all those things."

Rodriguez, now a father of two girls with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis, said, "So in my 20s, early 30s, [I was] probably not the best. I think I'm gonna make a wonderful partner or husband and father post-suspension because of the lessons learned of my biggest mistakes."

Rodriguez's interview also touched on his past relationship with Jennifer Lopez. Wallace asked the former athlete how he feels about Lopez marrying actor Ben Affleck after having been engaged to Rodriguez just prior.

"With Jennifer, look, it was it was a good experience. And I wish her and the children, who are smart, and beautiful and wonderful — I wish them the very best," he said. "That's it."

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