Putting the kids first! Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have been making coparenting a priority for their two children amid ups and downs in their relationship.
The professional golfer, 45, and the model, 41, originally tied the knot in 2004 after three years of dating. They welcomed their daughter, Sam, in 2007 and their son, Charlie, in 2009.
After six years of marriage, the duo decided to go their separate ways following Tiger’s cheating scandal in 2010. At the time, multiple women came forward alleging that he had been unfaithful to his then-wife.
The California native previously addressed his headline-making controversy in a public statement to his family.
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,” he wrote in 2009 after he was involved in a late-night car accident outside his residence. “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect … Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect … For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.”
Since then, Tiger has opened up about how his relationship with his kids has been shaped by his scandals.
“I’ve taken the initiative with the kids, and told them upfront, ‘Guys, the reason why we’re not in the same house, why we don’t live under the same roof, mommy and daddy, is because daddy made some mistakes,’” he detailed during an interview with Time in 2015.
The athlete admitted that he preferred to be honest with his children.
“I just want them to understand before they get to the internet age and they log on to something or have their friends tell them something. I want it to come from me so that when they come of age, I’ll just tell them the real story,” he added. “But meanwhile, it’s just, ‘Hey, daddy made some mistakes. But it’s okay. We’re all human. We all mistakes.’ … I was to blame, and so, I’m taking initiative with the kids. I’d rather have it come from me, as the source. And I can tell them absolutely everything, so they hear it from me.”
During the interview, Tiger acknowledged the progress he made in his relationship with his ex-wife.
“[Trying to make it work] was too tough, too tough. But now, in hindsight, as years and years have gone by, we’re like best friends. It’s fun,” he noted. “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. We’ve worked so hard, and I’ve shown her how much I love them. We’ve worked so hard at coparenting, to make sure that their lives are fantastic.”
Tiger later dated Lindsey Vonn from 2013 to 2015 and then Kristin Smith from 2016 to 2017. He has since been linked to restaurant manager Erica Herman.
Elin, for her part, welcomed a child with boyfriend Jordan Cameron in October 2019.