Even in the history of sports scandals, there has always been something pretty weird about Tiger Woods cheating on his wife and getting a very messy (and very expensive) divorce. Part of what is strange is that golf is not a sport that lends itself to nearly as many scandals as, say, football or baseball. Another strange aspect is Woods himself: confident on and off the green, Woods seemed like the last guy we could expect to generate a scandal.
However, he did just that with a string of affairs that imploded his marriage to Elin Nordegren. Over the years, many have wondered if she could have seen this coming and if she had any legal protections in place in the form of a pre-nuptial agreement. It turns out the prenup was there, but its contents are likely to surprise you. Keep reading to discover everything about Tiger Woods’ prenup with his ex-wife!
A divorce that will live in infamy
It’s possible the world might not have known nearly as much about Tiger Woods’ failed marriage to Elin Nordegren if the golfer hadn’t accidentally invited public attention. It all started when the athlete crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant in 2009. Everyone wanted to know what caused this, and it came out that Woods was in the middle of a domestic dispute with Nordegren over his marital affairs.
After that news went public, it was like a faucet had been turned on: more and more women came out and alleged that they had affairs with Woods. This naturally led to a divorce from his wife, and considering that the golfer was worth $600 million at the time, many wondered whether Woods had signed a prenup and just how good it really was.
A very lucrative pre-nuptial agreement
How good was the prenup between Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren? For most of us, it was pretty lucrative: their agreement specified that after they were married for at least 10 years, Nordegren would be entitled to at least $20 million if they got divorced.
Surely, none of us would scoff at getting a cool $20 million of our very own. However, as noted above, Woods was worth $600 million when he and Nordegren split. This would theoretically entitle her to a bigger settlement from the divorce, but for a brief moment, she nearly got a much better deal from Woods himself.
Tiger Woods allegedly tried to buy Nordegren off
At the time of the divorce between Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren, there were plenty of rumors about the duo. One of the craziest rumors was that Woods essentially tried to bribe her by offering an immediate $5 million payment and then another $55 million if she should stay married to him until at least October 2011.
Obviously, Nordegren didn’t end up taking this rumored offer. She clearly felt that she didn’t need to negotiate a new deal with her cheating husband to get a solid payday. As it turns out, she was completely right about that!
Nordegren’s unexpectedly large payday
When the smoke from the divorce cleared, Elin Nordegren emerged as a clear winner. She ended up getting $100 million in the divorce, and this amount is even more impressive when you consider that it is a whopping five times what she was entitled to due to the original prenuptial agreement.
Nobody is more aware of (and grateful for) how life-changing this amount of money is than Nordegren herself. She would later tell People that “Money doesn’t make you happy, but I have to be honest: It is making some things easier.” She added, “I have the opportunity to be with my children as much I want, and I am able to travel to see my family and also have them come here as often as I like.”
Tiger Woods makes a shocking marriage proposal
By all accounts, Tiger Woods really didn’t want to get divorced from Elin Nordegren. According to the National Enquirer, though, the athlete went to some real extremes by asking Nordegren to actually marry him again!
Interestingly, Nordegren allegedly didn’t reject this offer outright. But in a bit of sweet, sweet irony, she made the craziest counteroffer ever to her ex-husband.
The new proposal had its own insane prenup
That same National Enquirer story had another crazy wrinkle: when Tiger Woods allegedly asked Elin Nordegren to marry him again, she gave him a counteroffer. That offer was that she would agree to marry him again if he signed a brand new prenup. That prenup would actually pay Nordegren $350 million if Woods ended up cheating on her again.
Incredibly, Woods was allegedly willing to accept this crazy counteroffer, even if the details made his accountants pull their hair out. Obviously, the two of them didn’t end up getting married again, but it’s incredible to consider how much this famous golfer was willing to risk paying if it meant getting back with his ex.