Tiger Woods has had more extra-marital scandals than PGA Tour wins. In fact, that infamous
post-affair car crash is just the tip of the tee! While he’s hit a ton of birdies we’re
combing through all the new bogeys following his cheating scandal. Here’s what you need to know!
In 2021, HBO released a documentary titled Tiger,
which told the story of Tiger Woods' rise and fall and the toll the fame took on his personal life.
But, long before his downfall and the tip of the iceberg with his cheating was exposed in 2009,
the press already had a similar story on Tiger Woods ... that is… until he squashed it. In 2007,
the golfer negotiated a deal with Men's Fitness to do a lengthy cover story and photo
spread in the magazine. In return, the National Enquirer wouldn't publish a story, with proof,
of Woods cheating on his wife at the time, Elin Nordegren.
Both the National Enquirer and Men's Fitness are owned by American Media Inc.,
so where one money-making story fell through for the National Enquirer, another was able
to flourish for Men's Fitness. The August 2007 issue of Men's Fitness that featured
Woods sold 176,000 copies, with a 30% increase in sales compared to the publication's average.
The story the National Enquirer was building prior to the alleged agreement,
the existence of which American Media denied,
centered around a suspicious encounter of Woods with a waitress named Mindy Lawton.
The publication reportedly took pictures of the pair entangled in Woods' car in an
empty church parking lot, an encounter which would later be validated by Lawton herself
after the scandal reached the public. The deal, however, completely silenced this
story and prevented Woods' extramarital affair from going public. But two years later in 2009,
the National Enquirer published an exposé detailing his affair with a different woman,
which he initially tried to hide from his wife and family.
The week of Thanksgiving 2009
permanently changed the life of Tiger Woods. The day prior to the holiday,
the National Enquirer published a tell-all exposé titled "Tiger Woods Cheating Scandal," which
chronicled Woods' years of infidelity with a longtime girlfriend named Rachel Uchitel.
The story fueled an already growing suspicion of infidelity for Woods' wife,
and when Woods was asleep on the night of Thanksgiving,
she discovered text messages to and from other women on his phone.
Following an argument between the two, Woods left the house and attempted to speed away
in his Cadillac Escalade, only to crash his car just moments later.
The Associated Press learned from police that Nordegren was the first to get to
Woods after the accident and had used a golf club to break a window of the
car and help get him out of the vehicle. Despite the jolting nature of his crash,
the accident only drew more attention to Woods' personal life, which led to
an avalanche of stories about his double life and multiple affairs.
The car accident and the whirlwind of cheating accusations shined a bigger,
brighter spotlight on the already famous Tiger Woods. With the media inquiring
for details regarding the nature of the event, as well as his affairs,
the golfer made multiple statements within a short period of time to address the public.
His first statement came just two days after the accident on November 29. Woods vaguely
addressed media speculation surrounding his marriage and possible affairs, stating in part:
"This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way.
Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors
that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible."
Woods made another statement on December 2nd and divulged
a bit more about his personal life and indiscretions. He said in part:
"I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. [...] I
am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family."
Nearly three months after the accident, Woods once again made a statement on the matter,
with more sincerity and personal accountability. On February 19,
2010, the golfer held a press conference and publicly apologized for his wrongdoings, saying:
"The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful.
I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame."
"I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in."
Once the initial story broke that Tiger Woods had cheated on his wife with Rachel Uchitel,
several women came forward with stories of affairs that they had with the golfer. The
National Enquirer reported that Woods confessed to having 120 affairs with different women.
Woods' many affairs including women in Florida and Las Vegas. He met and started dating Jamie
Jungers not long after his marriage to Nordegren in 2004. According to Jungers herself, the golfer
would travel to Las Vegas frequently, as his trainer was based there, which is how the two met.
Rachel Uchitel, the secret girlfriend that sparked Nordegren's confrontation on Thanksgiving
Day in 2009, met Woods through their mutual friend, Yankees baseball player Derek Jeter.
Uchitel and Woods started dating in 2009, with The New York Times reporting that
Woods would "fly her around the world to tournaments and events" and had promised to
"invest in a restaurant she dreamed of opening."
Uchitel would later share more of her recollections about her time with Woods
in the HBO documentary, Tiger, released in 2021.
"I wanted people to see what really happened. I was not a mistress. I was
in a real relationship, and I want people to leave me alone about it."
Following his cheating scandal,
Tiger Woods allegedly was treated for sex addiction. In January of 2010, the National
Enquirer claimed that he had checked into Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services,
known for its sex rehabilitation services. But The Sun reported that he was at another
sex addiction rehab the same month, the Montrose Place Luxury Addiction
Treatment & Rehabilitation Center, located in Cape Town, South Africa.
Woods has also struggled with substance use, an issue attributed to insomnia as
well as the extensive injuries he experienced throughout his golfing career. They include
stress fractures in his tibia, cartilage damage to his knee, pinched nerves, and more.
On May 29, 2017, Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated
in Jupiter, Florida. Toxicology reports showed that the golfer had "Vicodin,
Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC" in his system at the time of his arrest. Following his arrest,
Woods sought treatment for his misuse of drugs and said in a statement:
"Recently, I had been trying on my own to treat my back pain and a sleep disorder,
including insomnia, but I realize now it was a mistake to do this without medical assistance."
The pressure of the media and the golfing world after news of his cheating scandal broke had an
effect on Tiger Woods. Though he had been painted as a bad person by news outlets and was viewed as
a monster by the general public, he still sought to regain control of his image and shield himself
and his family from the scrutiny. On December 11, 2009, Woods announced that he would be
stepping away from his career indefinitely. He wrote in an official statement on his website,
"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf."
His break lasted approximately three months, with Woods announcing his
plan to return to the sport in March 2010. Woods would ultimately finish
fourth in the 2010 Masters Tournament, with Phil Mickelson winning the title.
Tiger Woods' reputation was permanently changed after his cheating scandal. Once one of the
most admired athletes in the world, Woods quickly became the face of a man who destroyed his family,
cut ties with friends, and lost it all. Longtime friend and caddie Steve Williams had worked with
Woods since his early start as a professional golfer in 1999. But in 2011, Woods fired him.
In the documentary Tiger, Williams revealed that his firing came after he took on a caddying job
while Woods was taking a break from the sport. On their split, Williams said,
"Tiger was the best man at my wedding. I didn't think we'd have no communication
for the rest of our life [...] To this day, I find that a hard pill to swallow,
someone he spent 13 years with [...] the guy can't even speak to you."
"Sometimes, um, we all need changes."
John Garrity, a writer for Sports Illustrated, spoke about how Woods changed over the years,
from the beginning of his career to a few years before his cheating scandal,
in Curt Sampson's book, Roaring Back: The Rise and Fall of Tiger Woods.
Garrity called Woods a "pathological narcissist" and further noted:
"All of his human relationships were transactional. If you couldn't help
him achieve his goals, he had no use for you."
Furthermore, Golf Digest writer Dan Jenkins wrote the piece "My (Fake) Interview with Tiger
Woods," which relentlessly portrayed the golfer as self-centered and apathetic to those close to him,
and focused on nothing else but his career stats.
The story of Woods cannot be
told without addressing his scandal, and the documentary Tiger touched on
details of his cheating, with Rachel Uchitel as a main voice throughout.
Uchitel opened up about their passionate affair in the documentary, detailing how they first met,
long conversations about their lives, their love for one another, and their ultimate split after
Elin Nordegren discovered their messages on Woods' phone. In the documentary, Uchitel appeared to
have the freedom to discuss her relationship with Tiger, but this wasn't always the case.
Just days after the news broke about their affair, she signed a non-disclosure agreement,
which prohibited her from talking about her relationship with Woods. As part of the NDA,
she was given $5 million. To further ensure she'd keep quiet,
she was promised she'd receive $1 million annually for the following three years.
She said Woods' attorney threatened legal action after she appeared in the documentary.
NDAs are a common string that seem to connect at least two of Woods' affairs together,
with Uchitel and Kristin Smith, Woods' ex-girlfriend, both falling prey to
being silenced. Though it is unknown if any others have been silenced in this manner,
it is nonetheless a testament to how far Woods will go to hide his secrets over the years.
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