When Elin Nordegren made the decision to break her silence about the end of her marriage to Tiger Woods, she didn’t
call Oprah, but she did contact a familiar name for celebrity tell-alls. Nordegren, who successfully petitioned the judge in her divorce case to resume using her maiden name, initiated contact with People magazine and appears on the cover of the latest issue to tell her story of what happened to her after the infamous car accident in November, 2009.
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall of People met with Nordegren for about 19 hours to record her thoughts and feelings about her husband’s randy behavior and its effects on her both physical and emotional well being.
Westfall appeared on NBC’s Today show Wednesday, to explain how it came about and what the cover story was meant to accomplish.
Nordegren intended to clear the air after months of rumors and public discussion about what should have been the most private of affairs.
The People writer told Today’s Ann Curry:
“She really wanted people to know three things right off the bat: She’s not violent; she’s never hit him; she had no idea any of this was going on — as embarrassing as it is for her to admit that, she never suspected.”
Elin’s other main point was that her marriage to the world’s number one golfer was real. She knew she was in love with Woods and believed he felt the same. They always discussed having a family and she made that her main focus during the term of her marriage.
She rejected any public life that included anything other than appearances with her husband at golf tournaments and social functions associated with them. Occasionally the couple appeared at sporting events such as Orlando Magic NBA games and the U.S. Open tennis championship to support Woods’ friend Roger Federer.
In accordance with the terms of the final divorce decree, formalized only two days prior to the magazine story, Nordegren refused to discuss the terms, except for the most general of information about child custody. She told Westfall that she and Tiger agreed to share custody of their daughter Sam, 3, and son Charlie, 18 months. Estimates of the financial settlement have ranged from $100 million to upwards of three-quarters of a billion. The lower figure is more likely to be true, according to Darren Rovell, of CNBC.
No matter what the sum, Nordegren told People, “Money can’t buy happiness or put my family back together.” Nordegren is attending college and working toward a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She entered counseling after the Thanksgiving weekend that changed her life and those sessions enabled her to give her children what would have to pass for some normalcy after they moved out of the house they all shared. While the couple made attempts to reconcile the efforts were futile because their union was “without trust and love.”
Despite rumors that she intended to take the children to her native Sweden, Nordegren will reside close to her ex-husband to facilitate the child custody arrangement. Nordegren told the magazine that this may be the only time she speaks about her failed marriage to Woods; she fully intends to retreat back into private life now.
As for Woods, he is competing in this weekend’s Barclays tournament in northern New Jersey. The Barclays is the first of four playoff events to determine the winner of a $10 million prize as well as crown the world’s best golfer for 2010.
For the complete interview, pick up a copy of People Magazine at your local stands on Friday, August 27th.
Used with permission of the author.
Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.
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