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The Mysterious Mrs. Woods
David J. Phillip / AP Photo
Even more perplexing than Tiger Woods’ strange behavior early Friday morning is that of his elegant and discreet wife, Elin Nordegren. Jacob Bernstein on the couple’s once seemingly perfect relationship.
If the news of Tiger Woods’ alleged marital spat early Friday morning was surprising, it wasn’t just because the man involved in the car crash is perhaps the best behaved athlete the Western world has ever seen.
Since she turned up on his arm in early 2002, Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, has been not just a cipher but a consummate match for her husband—classy and elusive, and from a smart, well-to-do Swedish family.
“You could point to a thousand candidates for a professional athlete to choose from for a wife and she was maybe No. 1,” the source tells The Daily Beast.
From the start of their relationship, she’s shown as little interest in publicizing her high-profile relationship as her husband, despite tabloid interest that’s followed her over the course of their eight-year relationship.
As Sports Illustrated noted when it profiled her in 2004, the year she married Woods: “Even in the insular world of the PGA Tour, [Nordegren] is a shadowy figure, talked about by everyone but close to very few.” One golf-world source told the magazine at the time, “She’s become like Greta Garbo. When she started dating Tiger, it was like there was an unwritten agreement she wouldn’t say anything to anyone. She’s still nice, but when you talk to her, you don’t get anything out of her.”
Amazingly, in this tabloid age, that article is practically the only substantial piece of journalism to appear about her for half a decade.
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• Conor Friedersdorf: Who Cares What Tiger Did?That might be why one golf-industry acquaintance describes her as such a good match for her husband, at least until last week. And it’s part of why this person and others are so confounded by reports that Nordegren may have “gone ghetto” on Woods after allegedly hearing that he was having an affair. Leaving the house in the middle of the night, Woods crashed his car into a tree, sustaining minor injuries. Over the course of the weekend, more details emerged, but little was clear, even after the golf star put out a statement Sunday taking the blame for what happened and insisting that his wife tried to help him.
If this was true, why had a neighbor, and not his wife, called the police? What was she doing with that golf club that smashed the back window of the car? Was she trying to free him from the vehicle? How on earth did this happen?
“You could point to a thousand candidates for a professional athlete to choose from for a wife and she was maybe No. 1,” one golf-industry acquaintance tells The Daily Beast.
The person goes on to describe Nordegren as “lovely and intelligent,” an “omnipresent” attendee at her husband’s matches—at least until the birth of the couple’s first child, in 2007—who was always there but “never stepped into the spotlight or did anything wacky.”
Nordegren didn’t even complain publicly when she suffered complications during that pregnancy. She wound up giving birth in the hospital on her own via Caesarean section, while Woods remained on the golf course competing in the U.S. Open.
Says the source: “I can only speak from their public appearances and very few private ones, but they seemed not to have any kind of conflict. What we think happened probably did, but there was no evidence of it. This wasn’t like Dennis Rodman, who lived out his hostile relationships in the press.”
So who is Nordegren, 29, and what is her story?
She spent her first years in a small town 50 miles north of Stockholm, where she was the older, by 10 minutes, of identical twins. Her father, Thomas, is a successful journalist who has served as the Washington bureau chief for Swedish Broadcasting media. Her mother, Barbro Holmberg, is a prominent figure in Swedish Democratic circles who became the country’s migration and asylum minister. Thomas and Barbro split when Elin and her sister Josefine were 6 years old, though it didn’t have any apparent effect on their daughters, both of whom seemed, until this week at least, to be those rare people around celebrities without any discernible serotonin deficiencies.
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Genni2002
Thanks, for the info. Nice read. She sounds nice, if not a little robotic. Perhaps it is good to hear that she is passionate and can get ruffled feathers like the rest of us! Okay, maybe she went a little over-board? We'll see.
Chicago48
Is being "robotic" the same as being a trophy wife?
StValentine
clever....
CholulaBankhead
I'd say it's code for Stepford Wife, which womanizers usually love.
sophia5
" Is being "robotic" the same as being a trophy wife? "
Sounds like a perfect match then.
Tiger himself has been accused of being quite " robotic. "
Genni2002
You are on game, Chicago!
mpitagwa
The male equivalent must be 'trophy husband'. Does Tiger 'qualify' for that?
SeanW1026
Rock on Elin! That's beating a cheating bastard at his own game! I could care less what it does to his career or image, so long as she gets in the last WHACK!
Wayfarin
yeah man! domestic abuse is so freaking cool! right on!
MugsyKudzu
I know! I really enjoy beating my spouse with a stick too. she's not a real big fan of it, but who cares as long as I get the last WHACK!!?
SteveStephens
and when she swings a 7-iron, she hits what she is aiming at.
bodiddley
She "Blew" Tiger on their first date allegedly
maryjayn
The more appropriate term in this case describing Mrs. Woods actions would be "snapped" (and rightfully so)! What the hell Tiger? Are you just NOT INTO your stunning, classy wife enough to stay faithful?
Perhaps being smacked in the face with your own golf club is what it took for you to realize that when you decided to find yourself a couple of Hood- Rats to play with, is in fact when The Mr. Tiger Woods had "Gone Ghetto" not Elin. Running around on your wife with women that do not even come close in comparison is simply adding insult to the injury. Snap out of it Casanova or you will be sorry when you lose her for good. Good Luck, be glad you have it on your side.
nmacmedia
It would quite an achievement to be eaten by a tiger in Africa, even for Tiger.
christoxo
There is at least one functioning tiger preserve in Africa now because of loss of habitat in Asia. The old riddle/joke I remember from my childhood (What's so unusual about the tigers in Africa? There aren't any!) no longer holds true.
Terrance72
If anything, this incident is probably going to help, rather than retard Tiger Wood's marketability. Tiger has always been an admired figure but he has never been beloved, mostly because he has been soooo perfect, in both his game as in the off the course image he has cultivated. Jack Nicklaus, the man who's records Tiger has almost literaly chased his whole life was thought of much the same until he aged and people could relate to his battle against the common enemy, time. In this case it certainly appears like another common enemy, lust, is at the core of the story and if that is the case people will learn to like Tiger Woods even more because of it.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
osea65
Don´t think so Terrance, it seems as usual we have nothing better to do then to dig deep into a celebrity´s life and tear it apart. These people´s careers are priced for perfection, even the most seemingly insignificant imperfection, leads to tremendous loss!!! Letterman is a very rare exception, but he never portrayed the wholesome image Tiger had been nurturing.
Vance9281
"... who thought they might have been eaten by tigers."
Not in Africa. Does anyone fact check or edit any longer?
Holland
Well, no. Because readers want their scandal for free online publishers can't afford the necessary staff, so fact checkers and copy editors are near extinction .
And anyway, this kind of synaptic trip up is forgivable...
mistyb361
Right. If they had run a fact check, the writer would have noticed that the ranger did not think "they" were being eaten by a tiger....just, "she".
westsider
--A tiger in Africa?
--Ah...well, it's probably escaped from a zoo.
--Well, it doesn't sound very likely.
creoleamour
That is so dumb....read a good book or something. Think for a minute, why was Tiger leaving home at that time of the morning? Was he perhaps having a few drinks at home and decided to take a ride? am sure his wife can not pyhsically alarm him to the point where he would back out of his driveway like a bat out of hell. If she would have wanted to hurt him, she would have left him in the truck. There is definitely more to the story....but what business is it of anyone? Would you like all of your private business blurted out to everyone? Too much gossip in the world of today.
fadetonumb
Chinese tigers are being rewilded in South Africa. Maybe they did fact check afterall...
DakLak
[Yawn]
Leave them be!
TheOldSchool
This is amusing. Appended to each and every article I've read online tonight about Tiger, there has been a comment or two from DakLak feigning disinterest in this story.
kscr14
When the world loves a sports star, it is wise and classy to remain in the background. Look what the media does to you.
bluecollarbytes
Glad to see that the Woods have succeeded in remaining private despite the efforts of gossipers like the one writing this column.
seakiev
Eaten by tigers in Africa??? Really? I'm guessing this writer has not been to Africa, ever. Neither has the editor.
As to the subject, Tiger and his wife sound like nice, quiet people who simply value their privacy.
I hope this tempest in a teapot is quickly usurped by another Lohan or balloon boy story so they can deal with whatever issues are there in private. It's none of our business.
southernyankee
Boy seakiev I agree totally with you. I feel terrible for them. I want to know why is it our business? It's not. I give Tiger credit for telling us its none of our business.
briansays
Stone fox
What about the twin sister?
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
alternative
haha. You are delusional, and I love the stereotyping. All Swedish women are the same. Does that mean all American men are the same?
I'm Swedish, grew up there, lived there for many years as an adult and you are so full of it. How many wealthy Swedish men are there to go around to 'target' you think?
You gotta love America, no gold diggers around here. Go to 'socialist' Sweden and be 'targeted' all you rich men, please leave NYC and LA.
Still laughing.
MBACN1
Hello Humanrights
That could very well be the case as you so eloquently stated however, no has the right to condone physical,mental or verbal abuse from anyone if this is indeed what happen.
I must say that being a professional recording artist I can understand why Tiger is being so aloof about what happen and since he wasn't seriously hurt I wish the media and the press would leave him alone.
It is my hope that the media would instead concentrate on the health care bill that will reach the senate floor this week and let Tiger and his wife work this out in the privacy of their home.
slm523
hello mbacni,
This story line and subsequent posts are SUPPOSED to be about Tiger Woods, his wife and their PRIVACY. And, THANK GOD the American Public will NOT stand for the so called "health care bill" that is a sham and a shill.
THANK GOD that in AMERICA, Tiger Woods and his wife can demand and get their privacy, just as the AMERICAN PEOPLE can DEMAND AND GET a congress who cares about them instead of gaining what they deem to be "political clout." And, THANK GOD, all those crooks and lying thieves will be VOTED OUT in 2010....THANK GOD, INDEED!!! Then, obama will no longer have ANYTHING but his own socialist needs and wants to ponder...and HE will be gone in 2012. THANK GOD FOR AMERICA!!!
dixiedragon
So who was the Scandinavian woman who did you in?
humanrights
Dixiedragon, please see my comment towards the end that I forgot to make as a reply. The woman who has caused me endless grief is Danish and I describe what hell she has put me through in my submission to a British Parliamentary Select Committee looking at the standards of the British press, which are often abyssmal. The link is in my other comment.
Suffice to say, like Tiger Woods' wife, she does not want to lose her very wealthy man, so she used false evidence and trumped up allegations to say I was harassing him and her, then made sure it got in the press, defaming and libeling me. This was after I had been harassed for years, culminating in the brakes being cut on my bicycle. I kept getting libeled and have had to sue several British newspapers. It has been horrendous.
Because the man in question is wealthy and influential, she knew the British press would likely publish, as they did, without getting any right of reply from me. When they finally offered me one, I got libeled all over again. Most Americans are unaware of this, but the standards for accuracy in the British press are poor. That's why there are so many libel claims. It is publish and be damned. They rarely obtain two sources for a story.
OhStopItAlready
...oh please. put the pipe down already spunky. you're the exact reason why people like Tiger choose to be private. you're speculation based on absolutely nothing is a joke
sophia5
" Mysterious, " or maybe she's a shy Swede ?
Don't Swedes have a reputation for being " aloof ? "
sandraanndarling
Human Rights,
My family is going through exactly what you described in your post. I can't believe it's been deleted! Could you please post it again so I can share it with my Grandma?
thanks!
humanrights
Sandraanndarling,
I am sorry you are having trouble as well. I know the feeling and it is not pleasant. It is a pity they deleted my comment. I thought it was fair comment under the very serious circumstances. Tiger Woods could easily have been fatally injured.
I added another comment, but it was late at night here in London where I am at present. So rather than reply directly to these comments, I mistakenly added it at the end. Hope it is still there. I would like to help you if I can. Is this your real name? Couldn't find you on Twitter. I'll try Facebook?
Looks like some others agree with me, as I am sure Sylvestere Stallone would as well. His first marriage to a ....... was not very successful either.
AmericanPravda
Elin demands a Mulligan!!!! She meant to use driver on him, but pulled out six iron instead!!!
ellbee
Pretty dismissive writing. "Thoroughly qualified" as a nanny? And you don't think that's insulting. I'll bet she has a lot on the ball. Tiger wanted her to be his breed mare and she bore him two kids. They will all be affected by his sleazy behavior, just like Letterman's wife and son will forever suffer (not to mention the women on his staff). I wonder if Tiger also sexually harassed women in the workplace?
RedRahe
How perfectly "FEMI-NAZI" of you to say such things about somthing that in reality you know ABOSOLUTELY nothing about. All the info you have is from what you gathered from your male bashing friends.
I guess there is no "innocent until proven guilty" in your world, huh?
With comments like those why would there be, you've already tried, convicted and executed the man.
whatiam
Is that what all men mean to you? Who hurt you? A breed mare? Really? Maybe the story is all wrong because nobody knows their business?
OhStopItAlready
...you're tragic
cassieoa
Rita:
Leave Tiger Woods and his wife alone, it is sad to see people like drama. They have a beautiful family stop hating, get a real life of your own. If they want to go public that should be left up to them, no relationship is perfect. Marriage means something to Tiger Woods, stop making up things.
MCGILLICUDDY
The more he doesn't say, the more people will assume the worst, and that is, domestic violence by the angelic looking woman. The man is always too ashamed to admit to what is going on behind closed doors, only this time it spilled out into the street. The other problem is that the victim of spousal abuse is made to feel as though they are deserving of it and even sicker, then try to protect their abuser. If Tiger only came clean and acknowleged what occurred, it would help all the other male victims by turning a light on this under reported and unacceptable behavior .
humanrights
I meant to reply to your excellent comment earlier. You are spot on and I hope the media take notice and draw attention to this overlooked form of abuse. It is all so very secret and I think it happens more than people realize. These men often seek an escape by having an affair, the wife or girlfriend finds out and the cycle starts all over again....
The sad part is it would be very difficult for Tiger to come clean, if he has, as alleged, been a victim of domestic abuse. Although he has now in fact denied it, I doubt most people believe him. The best way out for him is to get divorced. People will respect him more.
scriptdog
How could you leave out the fact that she was a prolific nude model. Do a google image search on her and voila. she was the star of some amazing slide show emails sent around 4 or so years ago.
Lorengurne
Hasn't that been proven false? And besides what difference does it make?
kscr14
She sued and proved they weren't her,
gigigogo
Read for comprehension: "Later on, nude photos of a woman looking like Nordegren surfaced, but they were apparently fakes. She sued for libel and won."
noodleman
RTFA, where it states that those photos were fake; that she sued for libel ... and won.
Thank you.
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