A Play-By-Play Of The Disastrous Events That Led To Elin Nordegren Exposing Tiger Woods' Affair

Tiger Woods has established himself as one of the most successful golfers of all time. He dominated in the late '90s and 2000s, with stardom and millions of dollars coming from endorsement deals. He appeared to be unstoppable until his personal life fell apart. Woods was married to model Elin Nordegren and shared two children, Sam and Charlie, with her. He had a favorable public persona, but in late 2009 that unraveled.

After crashing his car, Woods became the center of a media circus. The car accident received a lot of speculation, primarily because of his wife's response. Nordegren smashed the window of the car with a golf club, leading many to question whether she was looking to harm her husband. When people began to speculate what had caused Nordegren's brash reaction, secrets from Woods' private life came to light. News surfaced, which alleged that Woods had been taking part in sexual affairs for years with several women, all while he was married to Nordegren. And the athlete's reputation was never the same. But the question is, what happened between Woods and Nordegren that led to the infamous crash?

On November 25, 2009, a story was leaked by The National Enquirer about Tiger Woods engaging in an extramarital affair with a nightclub hostess named Rachel Uchitel. Woods had been married to Elin Nordegren since 2004. They welcomed their first child in 2007 and their second child in 2009, just months before the affair story leaked. The day before The National Enquirer story was released, Woods wanted to assure his wife that the allegations were false. According to The Daily Beast (via The New York Post), he made Nordegren speak to Uchitel on the phone as Uchitel denied the affair. The women talked for 30 minutes, but Nordegren was still not convinced. 

Hours later, she went through her husband's phone and found messages that he had sent to other women, including a woman named Jamiee Grubbs. She left a voicemail for Grubbs saying, "You know who this is because you are f- –ing my husband." Woods then called Grubbs on his own, asking her to remove his contact information because he was sure his wife knew about their affair. He said in his voicemail, "My wife went through my phone and, uh, may be calling you. So if you can, please take your name off that. And, um ... just have it as a number on the voicemail" (via US Weekly). But his actions weren't quick enough to stop his wife's suspicions. 

It was Thanksgiving Day in 2009, and after dinner, Tiger Woods reportedly took an Ambien to fall asleep. Around 1 a.m., when Woods was still sleeping, his wife, Elin Nordegren, looked through his phone again and found flirty text messages between Woods and other women. She texted Rachel Uchitel, pretending to be Woods. When Uchitel responded, Nordegren was outraged. Nordegren called and told Uchitel, "I know everything" (via the Daily Mail).

Nordegren approached Woods, who was still in a daze from sleeping, and screamed at him for all of his lies. Woods went into the bathroom to avoid the screams and texted Uchitel that his wife was aware of the affair and that he was likely headed for a divorce. When he emerged from the bathroom, Nordegren allegedly threw the phone at her cheating husband and chipped his tooth. Woods fled from his house to the car. Nordegren reportedly grabbed a golf club and ran out of the house, planning to chase Woods' car with a nearby golf cart. 

Woods' car crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree at around 2:30 a.m. Nordegren smashed the back window of the car with her golf club. When the ambulance arrived, Woods was struggling to stay conscious and had facial lacerations. Many thought Nordegren used the golf club as a way to hurt her cheating husband. However, a local police chief clarified that Nordegren had used the golf club to break the back window in an attempt to help Woods out of the car, but she had never hit him with it.

On November 29, 2009, Tiger Woods released a personal statement on his website in regard to the car crash and tabloid speculation. Denying that any domestic violence had taken place between him and his wife, Woods said (via Biography), "This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way." He added, "The only person responsible for the accident is me." Woods was later cited for careless driving and forced to pay a small fine. It was quickly announced that Woods would be taking an indefinite break from golf. 

Woods and Elin Nordegren officially divorced in 2010. Nordegren told People that they tried to reconcile, but too much damage had been done. Referring to the night of the infamous crash, she said, "There was never any violence inside or outside our home. The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is just truly ridiculous." In 2014, she told People, "I have moved on, and I am in a good place." She and Woods now have a blended family, and she said their relationship is centered around co-parenting their children.