Over a decade ago, Tiger Woods was at the pinnacle of his career when his wife discovered his infidelity, and it’s hard to believe, but time seemingly stood still in the world of sport.
Elin Nordegren, upon discovering his affair, chased him out of their home with his own golf club and used it to shatter the windows of his car.
The golfer, who had amassed a fortune of $1billion (£706million), including £78million in endorsements,
had just clinched victory at the Masters in Australia and had been photographed
that same year meeting then-president Barack Obama at the White House, experienced a dramatic fall from grace.
The past decade has been tumultuous for Woods, but there was a time when his personal life appeared idyllic with his stunning wife,
with whom he has two children, Sam, 13, and Charlie, 12. However, in November 2009, news broke that Woods had been having an affair with a New York City nightclub hostess named Rachel Uchitel.
Uchitel had been spotted checking into the same hotel as Woods during the Australian Masters and had reportedly told friends she was smitten with him.
Before the story could make headlines, Woods attempted to quash it by putting his wife on the phone with Uchitel, as reported by The Daily Beast.
The two women allegedly spoke for half an hour, but Elin remained skeptical of her account. When Woods left his phone unattended, she inspected it and discovered the name of another woman, whom she contacted.
Elin was reportedly shocked by the scandalous details of Tiger Woods’ affair when they emerged on Thanksgiving. Woods is said to have started the relationship with Rachel Uchitel only four months after his son’s birth.
Uchitel allegedly boasted about their sultry texts and believed that Woods would leave his wife for her. Erin supposedly discovered incriminating texts on his phone later, including one from Woods declaring: “You are the only one I’ve ever loved.”
This led to a dramatic confrontation where Erin is said to have woken up Woods, who then barricaded himself in a bathroom to text Uchitel about needing to escape.
In a frantic attempt to flee, Woods was allegedly chased by Erin wielding a golf club and had his phone thrown at him. The ensuing chaos resulted in Woods crashing his car, which was later found with its back windows shattered. Erin claimed she broke them to rescue Woods following the collision.
The couple did not cooperate with police investigations, and more sordid revelations followed as various women, including adult film actors, exotic dancers, and sex workers, disclosed affairs with Woods throughout his marriage. Amidst the turmoil, a total of 14 women came forward within two weeks.
Woods’ image took a severe hit; he lost lucrative sponsorship deals with major brands like Nike, Gatorade, Gillette, and Accenture, withdrew from the Chevron World Challenge, and sought treatment for sex addiction in December of that year.
In a press conference held in February, Tiger Woods openly admitted: “I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable.”
He went on to express his remorse by saying: “For all that I have done, I am so sorry. I have a lot to atone for, but there’s one issue I really want to discuss.”
To clear the air on certain rumors, he also mentioned: “Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It hurts me that people would fabricate a story like that.”
This revelation preceded the announcement of the couple’s divorce later in August 2010.
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Source: New York Post