Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren’s very public divorce was the subject of tabloid chatter after reports of multiple affairs emerged.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren married in 2004 and welcomed their first child together, daughter Sam Alexis Woods, in 2007. They had another child, son Charlie Axel, in 2009. That year would become a turning point in the couple’s relationship. 

In November 2009, the National Enquirer published a story that claimed that Woods had been having an affair with a woman named Rachel Uchitel, a New York City nightclub manager.

Both Woods and Utichel denied the claims but, before long, more women had come forward with allegations of affairs. Woods and Nordegren were also involved in a car accident that was thought to be caused by a fight between the two.

On November 27, after Woods steered his car off the road and hit a fire hydrant near his neighbor’s front yard, Nordegren ran out of the house and broke the car’s back window with a golf club. She then pulled Woods out of the car and waited for paramedics and the police to arrive. Woods was not badly injured but was mumbling and incoherent, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Though Utichel denied having an affair with Woods at first, another woman named Jaimee Grubbs came forward with text messages she exchanged with the golf star and claimed they had a two-year-long affair. More women soon came forward, and Utichel eventually said she did have an affair with the golfer.

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves,” Woods said in a statement in December 2009. “I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

“I have been through the stages of disbelief and shock, to anger and ultimately grief over the loss of the family I so badly wanted for my children,” Nordegren said in an interview in August 2010, according to Us Weekly. “I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself.”

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren finalized their divorce in 2010 after almost a year of highly publicized scandal and intrigue about their relationship. They are now focusing on coparenting their two children and were spotted looking friendly in December 2020.