You might have heard of Tiger Woods – also regarded as one of the most popular golf players across the globe. This is not the story of Tiger Woods but Elin Nordegren, his ex-wife. To describe her life in one word, ‘tumultuous’ would be the right choice.
In 2009, a huge bombshell exploded in their married life when Tiger’s affairs came to the spotlight. More than 10 years later, it seems like both have moved on but when it comes to Erin, it is truly shocking what she has done with her life. Splitting with Tiger Woods has completely turned her life around, but for good or bad?
Who’s Elin?
Elin made all the headlines when she started dating the famed golfer. Elin Nordegren was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1980. She has a twin sister named Josefina and one older brother named Axel.
Despite her parents getting divorced, she led a normal and happy childhood. She used to study hard and was also a part of the school soccer team. Little Elin had no clue what her adulthood had in store for her.
Elin’s Childhood
Elin’s parents got divorced when she was just two. This led to the family getting divided in two. When she grew up a little, she moved to Berlin for some time.
She wanted to spend some time with her father but then she eventually returned to Sweden. While she was in Sweden, she was discovered by a photographer who was about to bring a crucial change in her life.
Shuffling Jobs
After Bingo Romer, the photographer who discovered her, he helped her find modelling jobs for various companies. However, Elin didn’t like the field and shifted her focus towards pursuing child psychology.
She hit a rough patch when she failed to make ends meet as she was juggling her studies with a part-time job. Later on, Golfer Jesper Parnevik’s wife offered Elin a job in the United States as a nanny.
Pursuing The American Dream
Elin felt convinced by this job opportunity and left her home country to move to the United States. It was a new start for Elin as she left behind her studies, a job, and a boyfriend.
When Elin entered the United States, she was single. At that time she had no clue that she was about to meet the world’s most popular golf star who would turn her life around.
A Budding Relationship
Although Elin was fine with the idea of meeting a new man, she was a bit hesitant kicking it off with such a prominent athlete. She couldn’t resist Tiger’s advances and felt immediately drawn to him.
They immediately got along and she was surprised to learn how caring Tiger could be. They were together for two years before getting engaged.
Their Wedding
Tiger and Elin’s wedding was a very extravagant affair because obviously, duh! The event took place in Barbados and spanned over a whole week. The Sandy Land Resort that Tiger booked costed him a cool $2 million.
Since they didn’t want paparazzi to gatecrash the event, the pair made sure that they booked the top security measures for their highly private event. They were about to commence their new life but a scandal was about to storm into Elin’s life.
Elin’s Scandal Breaks Out
In 2006, an Irish magazine published some photos of Elin which were compromising to say the least. Although Elin denied being a part of such a bold shoot, the scandal wouldn’t disappear.
In order to help herself, she hired private investigators and attorneys. Elin was finally in clear when they discovered that the photos were of a PlayBoy model. The magazine had to pay $200,000, apart from apologizing publicly.
Sam And Charlie
After the scandal died down, the couple went back to their private lives. In 2007, they welcomed their first daughter and christened her Sam Alexis Woods.
Two years later, they welcomed a son named Charlie Axel Woods. For a brief period of time, they must have thought that they are living in a bubble of happiness. But Elin had no idea that this bubble would soon get burst in the most terrifying manner.
The Trouble Begins
In 2009, just when everything was sailing smoothly in their lives, Elin found numerous articles linking Tiger to a woman named Rachel Uchitel. When Elin confronted Tiger, he denied all the allegations.
She soon found damning evidence on his phone and when Tiger’s infidelity came to light, Elin found herself broken. This incident was just a spark that ignited the wildfire which consumed their whole lives. Domino effect, if you will!
Tiger Takes A Break
Tiger realized that he needed some time to fix his life after this incident. Soon, he announced on his website that he was taking some time off from his professional career.
When Tiger announced his “indefinite break from professional golf”, he was the #1 draw, leaving TV and his sponsors without their #1 driver of ratings. It was about to get worse for Elin as well.
Tiger’s Other Mistresses
After Tiger’s infidelity made all the headlines, many more women began to come forward to share the news that they had also had an affair with him. The list included Holly Sampson, Cori Rist, Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton, and Kalika Moquin.
Most of these women had no idea that Tiger was married. Theresa Rogers, who claimed to be Tiger’s 11th mistress, also claimed that she and Woods were involved for more than five years!
Staying Out Of Sight
Throughout this painful ordeal, Elin decided that she would try as much as possible to keep a low profile.
Staying out of sight from the media vultures was one of the toughest things that she had to do. Despite this, she kept her head up and tried to remain strong throughout.
Settlement Amount
The prenup amount that was agreed upon during their wedding was $20 million if a divorce would happen. However, Tiger made it worse for himself as he had countless affairs.
Reports that surfaced later, claimed that the final amount ranged from anywhere from $750,000 to even $1 billion! The exact amount is still anyone’s guess because the press was banned from the court.
Elin’s Mental Health
Elin’s mental health took a serious toll because of the publicity their divorce garnered all across the globe.
By the whole ordeal, she found herself completely embarrassed. Moreover, the glaring eyes of the media didn’t help her situation either.
Old Habits Die Hard
On the other hand, Tiger Woods was back in the game. He soon started dating Erica Herman. Before Erica, he was also seen with a woman named Kristen Smith.
At one point in time, he was dating both of them, proving to the world that old habits die hard. He fell back into his old habits but Erica got him out of the pit.
Elin’s New Home
Elin also commenced her own process of moving on as she purchased a new house for her and the children. This new acquisition cost her about $12 million.
Her new abode boasts of 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms, taking up a total of 9000 square feet, with private access to the beach as well. To distract herself, she completely immersed herself in renovating her new place.
Budding Romance
Soon after remodelling her place, she started dating coal tycoon Chris Cline, who happened to be her neighbour.
It was reported later in the media that Cline seemed to be too busy for a new relationship. Many started questioning her choice because when they first began dating, Cline was 53, two whole decades older than Elin.
Questionable Choice
Her stint with Cline didn’t last long as Elin moved on dating Gavin Rossdale of the rock band Bush, and also the ex-husband of singer Gwen Stefani.
This decision of Elin was very questionable since Rossdale was known for cheating on his wife as well.
Her Most Recent Partner
Ten years after their infamous divorce, Elin has finally settled down. She is now with former NFL player Jordan Cameron.
Reports claim that the couple met at Art Basel in Miami a few years ago, and have been happily together ever since.
Welcoming A New Member
The couple recently became parents to their first child together on October 4, 2019.
Elin and Cameron have named their son Arthur Nordegren Cameron. It seems like Elin is finally living the life she deserves after all these ups and downs!