Tiger Woods‘ immoral actions through the years have had a detrimental effect on his life both on and off of the course. Since his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, found out about his excessive cheating and affairs, he was left without a wife and without his dominant golf game.
We know he hurt the feeling of a lot of women, but how have his children been affected by the publicity of their father’s infidelity? At such young ages, it might not be as much of a problem, but eventually Woods is going to have a lot of explaining to do.
Here’s what you need to know about Tiger’s children:
1. Woods Has Two Children With His Ex-Wife, Elin Nordegren
(Getty)
Nordegren, 35, was born in Stockholm, Sweden on January 1, 1980 to parents Thomas Nordegren and Barbo Holmberg. Her mother, Barbo had a successful public service career and her father, Thomas, is still considered to be one of the most famous Swedish journalists. The Nordegrens got divorced when Elin was just six years old.
Elin met Tiger Woods while she was nannying for Swedish pro golfer, Jasper Parnevik. While working in a clothing store in Sweden, she met Parnevik’s wife, Mia and they hired Nordegren to look after their children. The job required her to move full-time to the United States in 2001. She was introduced to Woods by Parnevik during the British Open that year and they became an item in 2002. Nordegren did some modeling when she started dating Woods.
The couple tied the knot in 2004 at the Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados after two years together. Woods apparently rented out the entire resort for a whopping $2 million for the week.
2. Their First Child, Sam, Was Born A Day After the U.S. Open
Tiger Woods watches a match at Stanford with daughter, Sam Alexis Woods. (Getty)
Three years after Woods and Nordegren got married, the couple announced the birth of their first daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, on June 18, 2007. Sam was born a day after Woods finished runner-up in the 2007 U.S. Open.
Woods is of African American, White, Thai and Native American descent while Nordegren is 100 percent Swedish, making their children true American mutts.
3. Their Second Child Was Born the Year the Scandal Broke
Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie Woods, sits on ex-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn’s shoulder while he watches his father play at the Tour Championship. (Getty)
In September of 2008, Woods announced his wife was pregnant again and that they were expecting their second child in 2009. Their son, Charlie Axel, was born on February 8, 2009.
On Thanksgiving of 2009, the cheating scandal was unveiled and Tiger was physically kicked out of his own house by his angry wife. Charlie was just 9 months old at the time.
4. The Ex-Wife and Lindsey Vonn Became Friends Because of the Children
Tiger Woods with his ex-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn, son Charlie and daughter Sam during the par 3 contest prior to the start of the 2015 Masters. (Getty)
Nordegren balanced two children and going back to school in order to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology. After nine years, she ended up graduating from Rollins College in Florida with a 3.96 GPA and her coveted psychology degree along with the honors of making the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony in May 2014.
During her speech, she joked about her marriage/divorce with Woods while delivering her inspiring address and wowed the audience. She humored the crowd by saying:
“When I entered my student advisor office in the fall of 2005 I was 25 years old and had just recently moved to America. I was married without children. Today, nine years later, I’m a proud American and I have two beautiful children…..but I’m no longer married.
Woods started dating his ex-girlfriend and pro skier, Lindsey Vonn, in March 2013 after meeting at an event in 2012. Whenever Woods was allowed to have the kids, Vonn was usually with him and she became close with Sam and Charlie. Nordegren, 34, found herself actually liking Vonn, 29, to the point where they hung out as friends.
A source told US Magazine:
“Lindsey is really good for Tiger. She’s strong, opinionated, and keeps him in line. Elin found that they are very similar and have a lot in common. They laugh and talk like they have been girlfriends forever.
When Nordegren was dating ex-hubby billionaire Chris Cline in March 2013, they even started going on double dates with Woods and Vonn. Nordegren and Cline split in 2014.
5. Woods and Nordegren Have Shared Custody of the Children
Elin and a friend with her children Sam and Charlie.(Getty)
After Woods cheated on Nordegren with dozens of women in one of the biggest scandals in the history of sports, Woods had to pay up, but their children helped them to mend their relationship.
Nordegren went easy on Woods and for the sake of the children, she agreed to shared custody and told Golf Digest about how great a father Woods is with his kids despite the pain he put her through.
She explained to Golf Digest:
“My relationship with Tiger is centered around our children and we are doing really good — we really are — and I am so happy that is the case. He is a great father.”
“In the beginning, you tamp down the animosity for the kids’ sake. I’m not going to deny that I went through the wringer. But I don’t think I doubted we’d end up here. That was always my dream, that the kids can have two loving parents that show respect for each other. And I feel that’s what they have.
Woods’ net worth was about $600 million at the time from his titles and endorsements from companies such as NIKE. This made the rumors of her receiving $750 million absurd, however Nordegren was said to have settled with about $110 million .
Woods was making anywhere from $10-$15 million a year from NIKE plus other endorsements like EA Sports and Rolex that made it add up to $55 million in one year , according to Business Insider. He had also made $104 million from tournaments and actual play.
Woods ended up selling the home Nordegren kicked him out of that night for $2.2 million to Bubba Watson. However, he kept the private jet and 155 foot yacht.
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Sam Alexis Woods & Charlie Woods: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know