How Tiger Woods and Ex-Wife Elin Nordegren Built an 'Incredible' Relationship as Co-Parents After Their Divorce

Author:
Kai Green
Feb 28, 2022

"It's great when you see people who've been married for 20, 30, 40 years and they're still in love. That's what I want for us,” Tiger Woods once told PEOPLE about his relationship now-ex-wife Elin Nordegren. A lifelong love, however, wasn’t in the cards for them: Two days before Thanksgiving 2009, the National Enquirer ran a story that Woods was having an affair with a club hostess, Rachel Uchitel. Woods had Uchitel call Nordegren to shoot down the rumor, but Nordegren found texts and called Uchitel from Woods’ phone–on Thanksgiving Day. Getting “something like ‘hey babe’” as a greeting cemented what Nordegren suspected. Later that night, around 2:30 a.m., Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade and was found by police on the ground with Nordegren nearby. It’s now believed that Woods had taken sleeping medications and painkillers before getting into the SUV.

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,” Woods would say in a statement five days later. “I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

In 2021, Woods was involved in another one-car crash that left him, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, “lucky to be alive.” Another reason Woods was lucky: His ex, Nordegren was “incredible” as he recovered. “She has bent over backwards to make sure that he can see the kids while he recovers from his injuries,” a source told PEOPLE.

Clearly, Woods and Nordegren have managed to move on from their marriage with a compassion for one another and a solid commitment to co-parenting their two kids in a healthy way. Keep reading to find out about what life is like nowadays for Tiger Woods' ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, what they’ve been doing since their divorce, who they’ve been dating and how they've built a good relationship after everything they’ve been through.

Who is Tiger Woods' ex-wife, Elin Nordegren?

Born in 1980, Nordegren grew up in Sweden; her mother,Barbro Holmberg, was once the Swedish immigration minister! She has a twin sister, Josephin, and older brother named Axel. She tried modeling, landing on the cover of Swedish magazine Cafe Sport in 2000, but did not pursue it long-term and is no longer modeling. She ended up working in a clothing store, where she met golfer Jesper Parnevik’s wife, Mia. The couple hired her to be their nanny, eventually moving her over to the United States. And that’s where she met Woods.

After marrying the pro golfer, Nordegren chose to enroll in Florida's Rollins College in 2005, finally earning her Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2014. She had a 3.96 grade point average, receiving the Hamilton Holt Outstanding Senior Award. She even gave the commencement speech at her graduation. “Education has been the only consistent part of my life the last nine years. And it has offered me comfort,”she told those in attendance. “Education is one thing that no one can take away from you.” She added that she hoped she could be an inspiration. “If I can inspire even one mom to go back and get her degree with the message that it’s never too late, then I am happy.” Today, she works as a mental health counselor.

Who introduced Tiger Woods to his wife?

Apparently Woods asked Parnevik to introduce him for a year—but Nordegren wasn’t that impressed at first, to be honest. “She had no interest in Tiger and he was OK with that,” Mia Parnevik has said. “There was a big line of single golfers wanting to meet her. They were gaga over her." Woods was so nervous that he got someone else to ask her out on a date, and she said no. “She had her opinions about celebrities and they were not high,” said a friend in the 2021 HBO docuseries Tiger. "And she’s very shy so the idea of joining that world was not appealing to her. And when he asked her out, I think she turned him down at first.”

She turned him down several times, finally agreeing to a date to get him to stop asking, according to one biography. When they went to a movie and dinner, she was surprised that she liked him so much.

They began dating in 2002, and by late 2003 they were engaged; Woods proposed during a sunset walk at the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa.

When did Tiger Woods get married?

Tiger and Elin were finally married on October 5, 2004 in Barbados. She wore an off-the-shoulder white Vera Wang gown while Woods wore a beige suit. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan were just a few of the celebs reportedly present; Hootie and the Blowfish performed. Nordegren’s twin sister was among the bridesmaids and the affair was punctuated by a fireworks show. Woods is said to have rented out the entire Sandy Lane hotel in St. James, with 112 rooms, for several days for the event. "Our families and friends are always going in different directions, so it's hard to get them all together," Tiger said after the wedding. "We were able to do that for this occasion—which made it even more special for all of us. We had a great time."

Is Tiger Woods still married to Elin?

Definitely not, and while their relationship as co-parents today is an admirable one, they weathered more than their fair share of big-time drama during the dissolution of their marriage. After the Enquirer story broke, Woods underwent treatment for sex addiction, confessing to reportedly 120 affairs while he was married to Nordegren. The last straw in their marriage? A one-night stand with a 21-year-old that Woods had known since she was 14. Nordegren reportedly was disgusted by that, calling him while he was in a restaurant with friends. “She was screaming so loudly that everyone at the table could hear what she was saying,” a source revealed; Nordegren was said to have told Woods that “this is the worst betrayal ever. I can’t believe you had sex with that girl in our own neighborhood. That’s it—I’m divorcing you.” And she did, getting $100 million in the divorce settlement.

“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 after the divorce was finalized. At the same time, she said she felt “stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself.”

Is Tiger Woods dating?

After the divorce was finalized, Woods seemed to enjoy being single, at least a little bit. “At one point he was surrounded by a group of six women on the club’s dance floor!” a source said about one night out. “Tiger was the man of the hour. He requested that the DJ play, ‘Tonight I’m F**ing You’ by Enrique Iglesias.”

Soon enough, however, Woods seemed to want more. He met three-time Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn at a charity event and started dating her in 2013. At the time, sources shared that Nordegren thought that the Olympic skier was a great influence on the golfer and got along with the children well–or that she “hated” the skier, depending on which tabloid mags you happened to read at the time. At any rate, Woods and Vonn broke up by the middle of 2015. Rumors swirled that Woods had cheated on Vonn with a one night stand he’d been seen flirting with a table of blondes at least once during their relationship and that he confessed to cheating during one of his therapy sessions.

Still, Vonn only cited their “incredibly hectic lives” when she announced their breakup on social media, adding, “I will always admire and respect Tiger. He and his beautiful family will always hold a special place in my heart.” After his 2021 accident, Vonn tweeted, “Praying for TW right now,” adding a praying hands emoji.

Woods’ next serious relationship, from 2015 to 2017, was with another blonde, Kristin Smith, a former NFL player’s wife and stylist. She believed he cheated on her and tried to get out of a nondisclosure agreement to spill the beans, but Woods threatened to share embarrassing pictures in retaliation.

Finally, in 2017, Woods met brunette Erica Herman; the one-time bartender at his Florida restaurant is said to be director of operations now. Nordegren likes her and approves. “Tiger has come a long way and Elin acknowledges that,” says a source. “She is happy that he is dating Erica.” She’s been seen everywhere with the golfer, even being present in 2019 when Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. An infrequent social media user, Woods posted a picture on his birthday in 2020 with Erica and the children. “Masters Champions Dinner Quarantine Style,” he captioned the Instagram photo. “Nothing better than being with family.”

Who is Elin dating?

Once the dust had settled on their divorce, Nordegren slowly started dating again. She was said to be in a relationship with the wealthy Jamie Dingman in 2011, but they split after about a year, reportedly because she didn’t want to get too serious after her divorce. In 2012, Nordegren was seen with Swedish hockey player Doug Murray (and others). However, Murray denied dating her, stating, “We are not dating and we have never dated.”

While Woods was dating Vonn, Nordegren was with billionaire coal magnate Chris Cline; there were rumors that the four went on double dates. It’s unclear when Nordegren and Cline broke things off; some reports say they broke up in 2014. Or in 2017. Cline tragically died in a helicopter accident in 2019.

In 2017, Nordegren was said to be seeing Gavin Rossdale, frontman for rock band Bush and Gwen Stefani’s ex-husband. However, Rossdale shot that down himself, saying they’d just been texting. "A friend was, like, ‘You have to meet Elin. She’s amazing.’ He was trying to connect us,” he said in an interview. “So I texted her a couple of times to say hello. She lives in Florida. She’s a really great girl. But I’ve never met her.”

Today, Nordegren seems to be in non-marital bliss with her new man, former Miami Dolphin Jordan Cameron.

Is Elin Woods married?

Nine years younger than Nordegren, her long-term BF Cameron was someone she met through mutual friends. They’d been dating over a year when Nordegren began being seen with a baby bump, and she finally had their son Filip on October 4, 2019. A bit after his birth, they filed a court petition to change his name to Arthur.

Cameron has another son from a previous relationship, but he’s always known he wanted more children. In fact, that’s partly why he quit the NFL after six seasons. He was concerned about the effects of multiple concussions (he’d already had four) on his health. “I’m not risking that at all. There’s nothing more important than your health. It’s just not worth it to me.” he told ESPN. "I want to be there [Tristan, his son]," Cameron said at the time. "And I want more kids, and I want to be present with them. I don't want them dealing with things that we've seen some other guys are dealing with."

How many kids does Tiger Woods have?

Woods and Nordegren share two children: Sam Alexis, 14, and Charlie Axel, 13. Both can speak Swedish as well as English. Their daughter Sam Alexis was born the day after Father’s Day in 2007, and was named Sam because Tiger’s own father, who had passed away the previous year, always called him Sam. Charlie was born two years later, in 2009, and almost a year later, Woods' cheating scandal was exposed.

Charlie is a terrific golfer; “It’s not just disgusting how good Charlie Woods is at golf at just 12 years old but also how much swagger this kid has. We ain’t s**t,” a writer said last year. He’s won two junior tournaments and he and Woods came in second a December’sPNC Championship. Sam, meanwhile, may be more into soccer.

Are Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods friends?

Both Nordegren and Woods want the kids to have a supportive, peaceful environment, even if it was tough at first. "In the beginning, you tamp down the animosity for the kids' sake," Nordegren told PEOPLE in 2014. "I'm not going to deny that I went through the wringer.”