The former NASCAR racer has never shied away from talking about her love life and all its complications. “I think we learn the most about ourselves through relationships,” she explained during a 2021 guest appearance on Running Wild With Bear Grylls. “But there’s nothing like heartbreak to really throw you in the deep end of that.”

The Wisconsin native has had her heart broken more than a few times over her lifetime, but she’s never given up on love. Instead, she’s taken a live and learn approach to her relationships. “You know, the idea that you’re going to change someone is a pipe dream,” she told Us Weekly exclusively in September 2021. “Like, it’s just … someone has to want to change for themselves.”

While she admitted to Us that “relationships are not easy,” her enlightened outlook on love comes from “knowing herself” better and also understanding what she wants in a partner.

“It’s not necessarily that they have their work cut out for him but that they’re going to be an extremely high-quality person with a lot of boxes to check,” she told Tamron Hall in March 2021. “It’s not as though there are boxes to check, it’s just that I know what I want now and I’m not willing to compromise [or] bend as much.”

The “Pretty Intense” podcast host wants a partner who is “someone [who] has done the work and continues to do it,” she told Us, adding, “[It’s about] finding someone that has that kind of quality … and that also fits you in so many ways. That’s the other part, you’ve got to like doing everything together.”

Looking back at Patrick’s dating history, it’s clear she likes a sporty guy who can keep up with her. No easy task, since the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race doesn’t like to lose. “I think that my competitive nature makes me want to do well, but I don’t think anyone has put any kind of, you know, goal on my shoulders that I need to do,” she said while speaking about training for the 2021 Boston Marathon.

With all the lessons she’s learned about love, Patrick wouldn’t mind getting married again. “I mean, I love love,” she told Us, joking, “If anyone wants to invite me to a wedding, I’ll go because I love weddings. They’re the best events ever.”

Keep reading to meet all of Patrick’s past loves:

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This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Shannon Carlin