Elin Nordegren
Tiger Woods’ cheated wife, Elin Nordegren, is finally having her say, telling PEOPLE she was “blindsided” and “embarrassed” by the philandering golfer’s many mistresses.
“I’ve been through hell,” Nordegren says in the cover story, adding she hoped to salvage her marriage even after the affairs came to light. The damage proved irreparable; her divorce was finalized Monday. “Initially, I thought we had a chance, and we tried really hard. I felt stupid as more things were revealed — how could I not have known anything? The word ‘betrayal’ isn’t strong enough.”
Elin says she’s been through stages of disbelief, shock, anger and “ultimately grief over the loss of the family I so badly wanted for my children. I am now going to do my very best to show them that alone and happy is better than being in a relationship where there is no trust.”
After the jump, more excerpts from PEOPLE’s in-depth interview with the former Mrs. Tiger Woods.
Nordegren, 30, remains classy and forgiving when discussing Woods, 34. “I wish him all the best in the future, as a person and as an athlete,” she says. “I know he is going to go down as the best golfer that ever lived, and rightfully so. I feel privileged to have witnessed a part of his golfing career.”
ABC reports the PEOPLE interview was conducted over 19 hours in a rented home in Florida, with Elin, who was born in Sweden, writing some of her answers to ensure her English depicted her feelings completely accurately.
“I never suspected, not a one,” Elin says of Tiger’s many affairs, which included porn stars and Rachel Uchitel. “For the last three-and-a-half years, when all this was going on, I was home a lot more with pregnancies, then the children and my school.”
Nordegren was rumored to receive three-fourths of Woods’ estimated $1 billion fortune. Sources now tell PopEater’s Rob Shuter her settlement is closer to $100 million. “Money can’t buy happiness,” Elin says, “or put my family back together.” She says this interview is the last she’ll speak on the matter.
“She’s still in a bad place, but getting better,” PEOPLE deputy managing editor Peter Castro told ‘Good Morning America.’ “This is a woman with incredible grace and poise and really a model for how you should repair your life.”
While the magazine’s reporter was with Nordegren in Florida, Castro says Woods showed up unannounced to drop off the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, Sam, and 1-year old son, Charlie. Elin reminded them to kiss papa goodbye. “It was a very, very pleasant scene and that was one of the surprising things,” Castro said. “It shows very clearly there really is no animosity. Elin is moving on.” The two will share custody of their children.
In the full interview, Elin also speaks about falling in love with Tiger, the “truly ridiculous” speculation that she harmed Woods on the night of his December car accident and her belief in one day finding another love.
