Tiger's ex talks: Nordegren on 'h**l' of affair revelations
Tiger Woods' newly-divorced wife Elin Nordegren has spoken to the media for the first time since her former husband crashed his car outside the pair's Florida home last November, setting in action the chain of events that ultimately led to their marriage becoming "irretrievably broken".
The pair's divorce was announced on Monday, and now in an interview with US magazine People, Nordegren has given her side of the events of the last few months - and the Swede says that stories that she attacked her husband with a golf club on the night of the car crash are completely untrue.
"There was never any violence inside or outside our home," she told the magazine. "The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is just truly ridiculous."
Nordegren claims that she went out looking for her husband because she was worried about his absence, and says that when she discovered him in the crashed car she simply tried to rescue him. "I did everything I could to get him out of the locked car," she said. "To think anything else is absolutely wrong."
The interview, conducted at Nordegren's behest, also insisted that she had no inkling of Woods behaviour, and that the marriage was a real one, at least as far as she was concerned. "I've been through h**l," she said. "It's hard to think you have this life, and then all of a sudden – was it a lie? You're struggling because it wasn't real. But I survived. It was hard, but it didn't kill me.
“I'm so embarrassed that I never suspected," she continued. "For the past three years, when all this was going on, I was home a lot more with pregnancies, then the children and my school."
Though the settlement sum Nordegren will receive was not disclosed, the former model added that "money can't buy happiness or put my family back together." Nordegren said that the experience also left her suffering from weight loss and insomnia, though it wasn't all bad - she confessed to finding a South Park spoof of her situation "hysterical".
Woods and Nordegren were married in 2004. In late 2009 Woods was revealed as a serial philanderer, a revelation that scarcely suited his carefully concocted public image and cost the 34-year-old several lucrative sponsorship deals.
Though the 14-time major winner returned to golf in April, having previously taken an "indefinite" break from the sport, this has proved to be Woods' least successful year since he turned professional. In nine attempts this year, the world No. 1 is yet to win, uncharacteristically missed the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship - and finished a career low of 78th of 80 players at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational earlier this month.
Woods' supporters are hopeful that with the failed marriage behind him, the player can return to something like his best form. The dominant figure of the sport for the last 15 years is back in action at the Barclays in New Jersey tomorrow, and still hopes to figure in US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin's plans as a wildcard pick for the event at Celtic Manor in October.
Meanwhile, Nordegren plans to remain in the USA with her children. Although she did say she would try to forgive her former husband, she is unlikely to be watching Woods in action any time soon. The mother of two claims not to have watched "one minute" of golf recently.
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