Lindsey Vonn is one of the most successful professional skiers ever, with four World
Cup overall championships, 82 World Cup victories, and three Olympic medals — including one
gold — to her name. But her successful journey has had plenty of adversity. These are the
tragic facts about Lindsey Vonn.
Lindsey Vonn was married from 2007 until 2013, but, unfortunately, that relationship didn't
end on the best note. The star separated from fellow ski racer, Thomas Vonn — who was
also her manager and coach — in 2011 and Lindsey has made no secret of the fact that
the latter part of her marriage wasn't exactly filled with joy.
At the time, Lindsey's career was on an all-time high after she was crowned the World Cup overall
champion from 2008 until 2010. She also took home a gold medal at the 2010 Olympics. But
she wasn't riding quite so high behind closed doors.
She said in a revealing interview with People in 2012,
"Everyone saw me on TV, or read articles, and it was all about my great marriage, the
white picket fence, all this success and my perfect life. But behind the scenes, it was
a struggle. [...] Everyone knows marriage is tough but it just wasn't working, and it
was making me miserable."
According to Vonn, there was no specific cause for her unhappiness in her relationship with
Thomas Vonn — it was simply a case of the marriage not working out.
"Nothing bad happened but there was just unhappiness. That's the only way I can even describe it
— unhappy."
She said that she at first put off divorcing her then husband because it didn't fit her
self-described "cookie-cutter image." However, the star knew it was time to call it quits
when she said to herself, "'I don't care if I ever win another race; I just can't live
like this.'"
Lindsey Vonn has been very vocal about her experience with mental health issues, particularly
her struggles with depression. Speaking to People in 2012, she admitted that although
her life might seem "perfect" on the surface, she still privately endured her fair share
of struggle — particularly with depression.
The star recalled one particular time in 2008 when things got so bad for her that she couldn't
get out of bed. She said that during this time, she, quote, "felt hopeless, empty, like
a zombie."
Vonn opened up how her depression first began when she was younger, sharing how instead
of getting professional help she would turn her attention to sport. She said,
"I always channeled what I felt emotionally into skiing — my insecurities, my anger,
my disappointment. Skiing was always my outlet, and it worked."
Vonn began feeling depressed again while married and realized that even skiing wasn't making
her happy anymore, which is when she sought help from a doctor who prescribed her antidepressants.
After seeking help, the star shared she felt like a "different person."
Vonn also opened up about her experiences at the Blue Cross Blue Shield's Health of
America Forum in 2019, where she shared that "therapy and medication drastically improved
[her] life." She told People in 2021 that she initially considered depression to be
a "weakness" but feels the subject now being discussed more openly "is definitely a weight
lifted off [her] shoulders."
In addition to her mental health experiences, Lindsey Vonn has also been vocal about the
detrimental effect her parents' divorce had on her when she was a teenager. The star's
mom and dad split in 2003, and Vonn has gotten very candid about how devastated she felt
over seeing her family in turmoil.
Vonn, who was around 18 years old at the time of their split, recalled to People in 2012
that there were many nights that she would actually cry herself to sleep. She said,
"When my parents were getting divorced, I just said to myself, 'Go to sleep and tomorrow
you can go skiing.'"
The star admitted that skiing helped her deal with the negative feelings at the time. Knowing
that she could hit the slopes the next day and channel her pain into physical activity
would take her mind off the difficult situation at home. As she put it, quite simply,
"When I ski, I'm happy."
This ability to reach a zen state while skiing became a theme in Vonn's life and career,
as she later told interviewer Graham Bensinger, ski racing is an activity she can count on
to give her an escape from the troubles she's facing in other parts of her life.
"I can always go skiing and only be skiing. Be in the moment, not have anything on my
mind, but enjoying what I'm doing."
Following her parents' divorce, Lindsey Vonn's relationship with her dad, Alan Kildow — who
was also a former competitive skier — became estranged. Lindsey revealed to Sports Illustrated
that her relationship with Thomas Vonn was a big source of contention between the two,
as Alan didn't approve of their relationship because of their nine-year age difference.
Lindsey was in her late teens when she first met Thomas, while Thomas was in his mid-20s.
Lindsey admitted that her dad's disapproval "forced [her] to take sides," so for a time,
she picked Thomas, resulting in Alan refusing to attend their wedding and the two being
estranged for several years.
Lindsey also shared that part of their rift developed from Kildow's high expectations
for her career. She told The Denver Post in 2010,
"He always supported me when I did well, which was 90 percent of the time, but when I didn't,
he didn't handle it very well. It was so hot and cold. It was so much criticism and so
much negativity, and it was really hard to balance my emotions."
Lindsey and Alan reconciled in the wake of her divorce from Thomas. Lindsey recalled
the reconciliation to The New York Times in December 2011, around a month after she filed
for divorce, that her dad was "helping [her] through" the split. She added,
"It's really great to talk to him again. We're trying to start over."
Lindsey Vonn experienced heartbreak after she announced her split from P. K. Subban
in December 2020. The two started dating in June 2018 and Subban popped the question in
August 2019, with the couple regularly showing off their love for one another on social media.
They also proudly gushed over their romance in interviews, with Vonn telling the Los Angeles
Times in November 2019 that she felt so lucky to have found him. She gushed,
"He just loves me for me and that's something that I've never found before. I'm looking
forward to being his wife and starting a family if we're lucky enough to be able to do that.
This is the start of a big and exciting chapter in my life."
Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. Vonn and Subban announced their split on Instagram
in December 2020; as of now, both posts have been deleted. In hers, Vonn called Subban,
quote, "a kind, good man, and someone [she respects] a great deal."
The split appeared to be a rough one, as Vonn opened up about going through a "painful and
difficult" time during an April 2021 interview on the podcast "What I've Learned, with Arianna
Huffington."
"When you get on the other side of it, you find so much more happiness and joy. If you
embrace that, you can learn a lot and find yourself."
It's no secret that Lindsey Vonn's career was plagued with injuries. She suffered a
particularly nasty wreck in January 2014 that saw her unable to compete in that year's Olympics,
leading her to tell fans via Facebook that she was "devastated."
The 2013 World Championships saw Vonn airlifted from the course after tearing her ACL and
MCL and suffering a fractured tibial plateau. But the grisly extent of Vonn's physical afflictions
throughout her career goes much further. The superstar athlete suffered everything from
bruised hips to broken ankles, arms, and knees. She even once lacerated a tendon thanks to
a jagged champagne bottle.
When Vonn decided to retire, she revealed that her multiple injuries inspired her to
call time on her career as she recovered from knee surgery. She told Powder, The Skier's
Magazine in 2019,
"I was in bed, alone, like 'What the hell am I still doing here? How many times am I
going to sit in this bed? I don't want to be in this bed my whole life. That's when
I knew it was time."
In her heartbreaking retirement announcement on Instagram, Vonn wrote,
"My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed
of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen."
Lindsey continued to ski for recreation in retirement, but it took her a while to get
over the pain. As she told Ski Magazine in February 2021,
"I still feel like an old, crippled woman sometimes."
Lindsey Vonn hasn't been a stranger to hitting the headlines for her private life just as
much as her career, and that became more evident than ever when Vonn started dating Tiger Woods
in 2013. Their relationship started only four years after the golfer's infamous cheating
scandal with ex-wife Elin Nordegren dominated the headlines.
Vonn and Woods called it quits in May 2015. Vonn initially blamed their "incredibly hectic
lives" for the split, though it wasn't long before Woods was accused of being unfaithful
again. The Daily Mail alleged Woods had supposedly cheated on Vonn in a one-night stand and came
clean to the skier after realizing someone had seen him with the woman. An alleged friend
of Vonn's claimed to the outlet,
"Yes, Tiger cheated again. But it wasn't with anyone special. He really wanted Lindsey to
be the one. But he blew it again."
However, a source speaking to People in 2015, described as a source close to Woods, denied
any infidelity on the golfer's part. That source claimed,
"There was no real drama. This was just a relationship that didn't last. It didn't work
out. They moved apart."
Speaking to E! in October 2016, Vonn spoke about her relationship with Woods. She said,
quote, "The breakup, being together, it was all really hard." But she also added that
the experience made her stronger. She also revealed that they stayed in touch and she
considered the pro golfer a friend. Vonn even later shared she was praying for Woods following
the golfer's car accident in February 2021.
It might be hard to understand, but even as a world-class athlete, Lindsey Vonn has struggled
with body confidence for years. Speaking to the New York Post in March 2021, Vonn revealed
that she'd been body shamed for her muscular figure. She said,
"A lot of people have said, 'You shouldn't wear things like that. It doesn't look good
on your body type.' I'm not going to say who, but I've had a lot of people say not such
nice things to me."
Vonn also revealed that she was targeted by trolls in the wake of the 2010 Olympics, telling
Yahoo Life that she was, quote, "bombarded with a lot of negativity that [she] wasn't
quite equipped to handle."
She added that she "definitely struggled with" all the nasty comments that came her way and
that she also "struggled with just confidence and body image for a long time."
"They laughed at me in middle school. So, anyway, next exercise."
Fortunately, it seems the star is now in a better place and has shifted the focus behind
why she works out. As she summed it up,
"My body is my body and it's helped me succeed in so many ways in life."
While Vonn says she initially worked out for the sake of her career — and also, of course,
to look good — now she motivates herself to get active for the sake of her mental health.
She said,
"I feel like honestly it helps me more mentally than it does physically and it's a great way
for me to start my day and just to feel really empowered and confident."
Lindsey Vonn admitted that she didn't have an easy time of things after officially announcing
her retirement from competitive skiing in 2019. Specifically, she says she found it
difficult to find a new sense of purpose.
She told Yahoo Life in June 2021,
"You wake up one day and you're no longer doing what you always did. So as much as I
had prepared for it, it still emotionally was really difficult to deal with."
The star shared a similar sentiment with People that same month, recalling how things slowed
down when what she described as her "post-career letdown" happened. She said,
"You worked your whole life for that moment and then it's over. And you're like, 'What
do I do now?'"
As for how Vonn worked to keep herself in a good place following her retirement? Well,
she credited having a good support system in her life to help her remember the things
that are important. She also shared that her three adorable dogs — Lucy, Leo, and Bear
— keep her spirits up, while journaling helps her to get all of her feelings out as
she explores the next chapter of her remarkable life.
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