Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren’s Ups and Downs: How They Got Over Scandal to Coparent Their Kids

Credit: Scot Tucker/AP/Shutterstock

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren’s Ups and Downs: How They Got Over Scandal to Coparent Their Kids

Moving past the turmoil. More than a decade after a headline-making cheating scandal, Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have put the past behind them to coparent their two kids. Woods and Nordegren met in 2001 through golfer Jesper Parnevik, whom she was nannying for at the time. “Elin told me that he didn’t make a great impression on her at first,” Nordegren’s friend Sandra Sobieraj Westfall revealed in the 2021 HBO documentary, Tiger. “She had her opinions about celebrities and they were not high. 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 gradually was convinced that she should give him a chance and so they did go out.” Three years later, the twosome tied the knot and went on to welcome a daughter, Sam, in 2007 and a son, Charlie, in 2009. The same year Charlie was born, news broke that Woods had several affairs, including a full-fledged relationship with Rachel Uchitel. Nordegren confronted Woods about his indiscretions on Thanksgiving in November 2009. The twosome finalized their divorce the following August. “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 her only post-split interview in August 2010. “I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself.” [jwplayer L6mBO4tB-l3ahXupL] Five years later, Woods shed light on their marital woes during an interview with Time. “In hindsight, it’s not how I would change 2009 and how it all came about. It would be having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife,” he said. “When it comes down to it, right down to it, it’s just having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife when we were married. Our frustrations would have come out if we had talked about it and been open and honest with each other. Which we are now, and it’s absolutely fantastic.” During a 2016 interview, Woods opened up to Charlie Rose about telling his kids about his past infidelities. “I’ve said, 'Everybody makes mistakes, and the reason why Mommy’s living in her house and Daddy’s living in his house is because Daddy made mistakes, and it's OK,’” he recalled. While Woods started seeing girlfriend Erica Herman in 2017, Nordegren has been publicly linked to retired football player Jordan Cameron since 2019. Scroll through for a timeline of the former spouses' ups and downs over the years:

Credit: Scot Tucker/AP/Shutterstock

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren’s Ups and Downs: How They Got Over Scandal to Coparent Their Kids

Moving past the turmoil. More than a decade after a headline-making cheating scandal, Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have put the past behind them to coparent their two kids. Woods and Nordegren met in 2001 through golfer Jesper Parnevik, whom she was nannying for at the time. “Elin told me that he didn’t make a great impression on her at first,” Nordegren’s friend Sandra Sobieraj Westfall revealed in the 2021 HBO documentary, Tiger. “She had her opinions about celebrities and they were not high. 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 gradually was convinced that she should give him a chance and so they did go out.” Three years later, the twosome tied the knot and went on to welcome a daughter, Sam, in 2007 and a son, Charlie, in 2009. The same year Charlie was born, news broke that Woods had several affairs, including a full-fledged relationship with Rachel Uchitel. Nordegren confronted Woods about his indiscretions on Thanksgiving in November 2009. The twosome finalized their divorce the following August. “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 her only post-split interview in August 2010. “I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself.” [jwplayer L6mBO4tB-l3ahXupL] Five years later, Woods shed light on their marital woes during an interview with Time. “In hindsight, it’s not how I would change 2009 and how it all came about. It would be having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife,” he said. “When it comes down to it, right down to it, it’s just having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife when we were married. Our frustrations would have come out if we had talked about it and been open and honest with each other. Which we are now, and it’s absolutely fantastic.” During a 2016 interview, Woods opened up to Charlie Rose about telling his kids about his past infidelities. “I’ve said, 'Everybody makes mistakes, and the reason why Mommy’s living in her house and Daddy’s living in his house is because Daddy made mistakes, and it's OK,’” he recalled. While Woods started seeing girlfriend Erica Herman in 2017, Nordegren has been publicly linked to retired football player Jordan Cameron since 2019. Scroll through for a timeline of the former spouses' ups and downs over the years:

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2001

Woods and Nordegren met at the 2001 British Open.

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2003

Woods popped the question in 2003 after nearly two years of dating.

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2004

The twosome exchanged vows in Barbados on October 5, 2004.

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2007

Nordegren gave birth to their daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, in June 2007.

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2009

The pair welcomed son Charlie Axel Woods in February 2009.

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2009

In November 2009, Woods invited Uchitel to watch him play in the Australian Masters. That same month, the golfer had his then-girlfriend talk to his then-wife on the phone to try to shut down speculation about their relationship in the media.

"We had an extensive, 30-minute conversation, Elin and I, convincing her that I was not having a sexual relationship with Tiger,” Uchitel claimed in the HBO doc Tiger in 2021. "We talked about how I knew Tiger, how I knew his friends, how and why I was in Australia. The story came out and nobody looked at it. Between the stupid story and phone call with Elin, I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, we're gonna fly right over this.’”

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2009

Later that month, Nordegren discovered evidence that Woods was indeed cheating on her and called Uchitel. "I answered saying something like, 'Hey babe, I thought you went to sleep,’” the Celebrity Rehab alum claimed in the aforementioned HBO dox. "And instead of Tiger's voice, it was Elin and she said, 'I knew it was you.'"

More than a dozen women subsequently alleged that they also had affairs with Woods before he checked into treatment for sex addiction.

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2010 divorce

In February 2010, Woods addressed the media after completing 45 days in treatment.

"I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled,” he said. “Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish.”

Several months later, Nordegren and Woods finalized their divorce in August 2010. 

“We are sad that our marriage is over, and we wish each other the very best for the future. While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us,” Woods said in a statement at the time. “Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being. The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”

According to reports, Nordegren did not sign a prenup and was granted $110 million in their settlement.

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2014

Nordegren has stayed mum on their split over the years, but she joked about the scandal during a speech at her Rollins College graduation in May 2014.

“I was married without children [when I started college]. Today nine years later, I’m a proud American with two beautiful children, but I am no longer married,” she said, noting that the Florida university “offered me a place of peace in the wild storm of my personal life.”

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2015

Five years after their divorce was finalized, Woods told Time that his ex-wife is one of his “best friends."

He explained: “Having the relationship that I have now with her is fantastic. We’re able to pick up the phone, and we talk to each other all the time. … It’s fun. She talks to me about her life, I talk to her about my life. We try and help each other out on all occasions. And we work through it with the kids, the parenting program. She is one of my best friends now, and it’s all because of my kids.”

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2017

Woods wrote in his 2017 book, Tiger Woods – Unprecedented, The Masters and Me, that his regret over the cheating scandal "will last a lifetime.”

He wrote: “Still, Elin and I are devoted to our kids, and we have become best friends as we care for them. It's all about the kids for us.”

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2019

Us confirmed in June 2019 that Nordegren was expecting her first child with Cameron. “Elin maintains a low profile and has a normal, boring life. Florida allows her to live that quiet life. … She’s surprised that people care that she’s pregnant,” a source told Us at the time.

The couple welcomed their son in October 2019 and later legally changed his name from Filip Nordegren Cameron to Arthur Nordegren Cameron in February 2020.

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2020

Nordegren and Woods’ girlfriend, Herman, put on a united front while watching the athlete and son Charlie play and win the PNC Tournament in December 2020.

“It’s been incredible,” Golf Channel analyst and Woods’ friend Notah Begay III said during the broadcast. “You never know how a parent separation is going to affect the kids and both Tiger and Elin have made it such a huge priority to protect the interests of their kids and their privacy. Tiger talked about it yesterday in his post-round comments, making sure he takes the brunt of the media requests here, trying to make sure that both Sam and Charlie, from both Elin and Tiger, have a nice quality childhood like anybody else out there.”

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2023

An insider told Us that Nordegren and Woods were getting along well in the midst of his split from Herman. “Tiger and Elin are truly in a great place,” the source explained. “He’s been so great with the kids, and that really brought her around to having a friendship with Tiger.”