Sports

Tiger Woods’ Relationship History: From Erica Herman to Elin Nordegren

Tiger Woods was famously married to Elin Nordegren from 2004 to 2010. He most recently split from Erica Herman after more than five years together

Tiger Woods has had his fair share of relationship ups and downs over the years.

The golf pro has been linked to several women over the years, including former wife Elin Nordegren, and ex-girlfriends including Lindsey Vonn and Erica Herman.

After Woods’ infidelity was exposed in 2009 and a difficult divorce from Nordegren, the exes have co-parented their kids, daughter Sam Alexis and son Charlie Axel, together.

“My regret will last a lifetime,” he wrote in his 2017 memoir, Tiger Woods – Unprecedented, The Masters and Me. “Still, Elin and I are devoted to our kids, and we have become best friends as we care for them. It’s all about the kids for us.”

Woods later moved on to a public relationship with Vonn from 2013 to 2015, and a more private one with Herman from 2017 until 2022.

Though the Olympic skier has shared things ended amicably with her ex, his most recent split ended on less friendly terms. In 2023, Herman filed a lawsuit against Woods asking to be removed from a non-disclosure agreement that she signed at the start of their relationship, citing a law that allows NDAs to be nullified in cases of 𝑠e𝑥ual assault.

In court documents filed by the golfer in response, Woods denied Herman’s claims. “Ms. Herman is not a victim of 𝑠e𝑥ual assault or abuse,” his attorneys said in the filing. “Rather, Ms. Herman is a jilted ex-girlfriend who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court.”

Here’s a look back at Tiger Woods’ dating history.

Elin Nordegren

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Woods was married to Swedish former swimsuit model and nanny Elin Nordegren for nearly six years before they divorced in 2010 amid reports of Woods’ infidelity.

The couple were introduced in 2001 by Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, whom Nordegren was nannying for at the time. They tied the knot on Oct. 5, 2004 in Barbados in a private sunset ceremony. 200 attendees were present at the wedding, including family, friends and celebrity guests like Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.

They became first-time parents with the arrival of their daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, on June 18, 2007. Two years later, the couple welcomed their son, Charlie Axel Woods, on Feb. 8, 2009.

That same year, reports surfaced that Woods had been unfaithful in his marriage. After the golfer crashed his Cadillac Escalade outside the couple’s Florida home in November, Nordegren used two golf clubs to shatter the rear windows of the vehicle. Though she later told police that she was trying to help rescue an incoherent Woods from the vehicle, it was widely assumed that Nordegren had broken the windows after an argument.

Not long after, dozens of women came forward alleging that they had 𝑠e𝑥ual relationships with Woods. After almost six years of marriage, Nordegren and Woods finalized their divorce on Aug. 23, 2010. Initial reports stated that Nordegren’s divorce settlement from her ex-husband was $750 million, but she actually walked away with $100 million.

“Money doesn’t make you happy, but I have to be honest: It is making some things easier,” she told PEOPLE in 2010. “I have the opportunity to be with my children as much I want, and I am able to travel to see my family and also have them come here as often as I like.”

Despite the scandal at the end of their marriage, a source told PEOPLE in 2018 that the pair were getting along as co-parents and close pals.

“They’re friends now,” the source said. “Everything that happened in the past is in the past. They both decided to be adults and to do what was best for the kids. So they get along really well. Tiger says really great things about Elin. He never complains about her, ever. … The kids love them both.”

Rachel Uchitel

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New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel became a household name in November 2009 when her affair with Woods was revealed. Though she initially denied the claims, multiple women soon came forward with stories of their own affairs with the athlete.

Woods first admitted to “transgressions,” after the news broke but did not outright admit to any cheating until December 11 when he came clean about his “infidelity” and announced he would be taking a step back from his career.

His affairs cost him golf championships, endorsement deals, brand partnerships and his marriage to Nordegren. Following the reveal of her affair with Woods, Uchitel opened a children’s boutique in Manhattan in 2013 and appeared on the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. She married former Penn State football player Matt Hahn in October 2011 and welcomed their daughter Wyatt Lily Hahn in May 2012. They have since divorced.

Uchitel appeared in Tiger, the 2021 HBO documentary about the downfall and comeback of Woods, to speak about the scandal for the first time in over a decade.

“I have been silent for over a decade now, and I felt that it was really important to me to speak only once in my life because I have spent all these years letting people think what they want to think and say what they want to say,” she told Extra in an interview ahead of the documentary’s release. “I needed to take the shackles off and be able to tell my story for me.”

Lindsey Vonn

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Following rumors in early 2013 that Woods had entered a relationship with Lindsey Vonn, the couple announced their relationship on March 18, 2013, with statements released simultaneously on Woods’ website and the Olympic skier’s Facebook page.

“Something nice that’s happened off the course was meeting Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating,” the golf pro wrote. “We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy. We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes.”

The pair weren’t shy about putting their relationship on display, including stepping out with Woods’ kids together, whom the Olympian shared she was fond of.

“They’re great. They’re amazing kids, and he’s an amazing father,” Vonn told PEOPLE at the 2015 New York premiere of The Age of Adaline. “You know, I feel privileged to be along for the ride, and I help as much as I can. They’re great kids — I love ’em.”

By May 2015, their relationship came to an end. “After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship. I will always cherish the memories that we’ve created together. Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our time apart,” Vonn wrote in a Facebook statement.

She continued, “I will always admire and respect Tiger. He and his beautiful family will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Years after calling it quits, Vonn has revealed that they are still on friendly terms. “We are friends and, of course, I’m happy that he is back and healthy,” Vonn told Entertainment Tonight, referring to the 2021 car accident her ex was involved in. “And, you know, it was a tough time for him. So I am just happy that he is back with his kids.”

Kristin Smith

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News broke in late 2016 that Woods had a new woman in his life, Dallas, Texas-based wardrobe stylist Kristin Smith. Though the golfer never publicly addressed the relationship while he and Smith were dating, he later alluded to their romance while also confirming their breakup.

After an article published by the Daily Mail claimed that the couple were still together during Woods’ DUI arrest in May 2017, Woods denied the rumors on Twitter. “Contrary to the false Daily Mail article, Kristin Smith and I are no longer dating and haven’t since last year,” he wrote.

Smith also kept quiet about their relationship, telling D Magazine in March 2017 that she prefers to keep her lips sealed about her personal life. “I’m happy in my personal life; it’s really full. But I think if I shared it, I’d be damned if I did, damned if I didn’t. I don’t want it to define me.”

Erica Herman

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Woods stepped out publicly for the first time at the President’s Cup in September 2017 with a new woman by his side, Erica Herman. Within one month, the couple made their relationship Instagram official when Woods shared a photo of the two at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for a World Series game.

Herman worked as the general manager of Tiger Woods’ flagship restaurant, The Woods Jupiter, which opened at Florida’s Harbourside Place in August 2015. It was there that she met and began working with Woods, a former restaurant employee told Page Six.

Not only did she get along well with his two kids, Herman also kept things friendly with Woods’ ex-wife. “Elin has a friendly relationship with Erica,” a source told PEOPLE. “Tiger has come a long way and Elin acknowledges that. She is happy that he is dating Erica.”

After five years together, news broke in March 2023 that they had parted ways when Herman filed a lawsuit against Woods, asking to be removed from a non-disclosure agreement she signed in August 2017 when the two began dating. She cited the Speak Out Act in the lawsuit, which allows NDAs to be nullified in cases of 𝑠e𝑥ual harassment or assault, but did not make any accusations against him.

Additionally, she filed a lawsuit in December 2022 against Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust, Woods’ trust. In documents obtained by PEOPLE, she claims that there was an oral agreement in place with the trust that allowed her to live at the golfer’s home for another five years. However, lawyers for the trust argue that she was only allowed to live in the home while she was dating Woods.

Herman claims she’s owed $30 million after the oral agreement was breached when employees of the trust “locked her out of the Residence, removed her personal belongings, and informed her she could not return” after her relationship ended with Woods in October 2022. She also noted that she had more than $40,000 in cash “misappropriated.”

Woods has denied the claims made by Herman in court documents obtained by PEOPLE. “Ms. Herman’s position is utterly meritless,” lawyers for Woods’ trust wrote in the documents. “It is a transparent abuse of the judicial process that undermines the purpose of the federal statute and those whom the statute seeks to protect.”

“Ms. Herman is not a victim of 𝑠e𝑥ual assault or abuse,” attorneys for Woods’ trust allege. “Rather, Ms. Herman is a jilted ex-girlfriend who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court,” it continued.

A source close to Woods shared with PEOPLE that Herman is upset about the end of the relationship, which “was stale for a long time.”

The insider claimed that Herman “helped him through his accident and recovery,” but things “went downhill” for the couple for “a variety of reasons” after. Woods was injured in a 2021 car accident that has restricted his ability to golf, and his “frustration over the injuries, some of which are not going to get much better,” made things harder for them.

However, Woods was “getting restless” in his relationship “even before the accident,” says the source. Meanwhile, Herman “was more serious about a long-term commitment.”

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