Elin Nordegren

Elin Nordegren did many odd summer jobs during her early life. She also worked as a cashier in a supermarket to finance her education. In 2000, she started modelled and appeared on the glossy cover of the ‘Cafe Sport’ magazine. Soon after this, she joined a clothing store called Champagne. At the store, Nordegren met the wife of golfer Jesper Parnevik and was hired as a nanny for the couple’s children.

Elin Nordegren met Tiger Woods through Jesper Parnevik who introduced them during the 2001 Open Championship. Initially Nordegren had a boyfriend back home and was not interested in golfers. However, she became close to Woods after the relationship with her boyfriend dissolved. In November 2003, Nordegren and Woods attended the Presidents Cup tournament that took place in South Africa. There, she accepted the latter’s proposal.

The following year, the couple got married at Sandy Lane resort in Barbados in the presence of family members and approximately 200 friends, including basketball players Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. Woods and Nordegren welcomed their daughter Sam Alexis in 2007 and son Charlie Axel in 2009.

Soon after this, the couple’s marriage hit the rocks when Woods publically admitted to infidelity in December 2009. Following this, Woods took a break from his career to fix his personal issues. However, these efforts were not successful and the couple finalised their divorce on August 23, 2010. Nordegren received $100 million as divorce settlement.