WASHINGTON: Tiger Woods`s ex-wife has broken her silence on the sex scandal that ended their marriage, saying the extent of his philandering had made her feel "stupid" and she had been through "hell."
Elin Nordegren told People magazine that stress from the lurid tabloid scandal caused her insomnia and weight loss, and that in the days before her divorce was finalized she began to lose her hair.
"I`ve been through hell," Nordegren, a 30-year-old Swedish former model, told the celebrity news weekly in an article posted Wednesday on its website and which will hit newsstands later this week.
Woods wed Nordegren in October 2004 in Barbados and they have a three-year-old daughter Sam and a 19-month-old son Charlie.
The divorce was finalized at a 10-minute court hearing Monday in Florida.
Woods, whose affairs with multiple mistresses destroyed his iconic image, took full blame on Wednesday in his first public comments since the divorce at course near New York where he starts a US PGA playoff event on Thursday.
"My actions certainly led us to this decision," Woods said. "I made a lot of errors in my life. That`s something I`m going to have to live with."
Asked if he felt relief now that the divorce was complete, Woods said, "I don`t think that`s the word. I think it`s more sadness."
Nordegren told People she initially felt "shock and disbelief" at learning Woods had cheated on her. Later, as a string of women, including a porn star, a cocktail waitress and a Las Vegas club manager claimed affairs with her husband she began to question herself.
"I felt stupid as more things were revealed. How could I not have known anything?" she said. "The word betrayal isn`t strong enough. I felt like my whole world had fallen apart."
A reporter for the magazine interviewed Nordegren for 19 hours over four days, scoring her first published reaction to the sordid sex scandal that broke last November and made headlines around the world.
Nordegren said she and Woods had tried to reconcile but she ultimately decided it was hopeless because she had lost her trust in him.
She said she had been truly devoted to Woods and had hoped for a happily-ever-after life together with him.
"I loved him. We had so much fun," she said, "and I felt safe with him."
Asked to react to her grief and feeling like the divorce was a death, Woods said, "I certainly understand she is sad and I feel the same way."
"I wish her the best in everything. It`s a sad time in our lives. We`re looking forward in our lives and how we can bring up our kids the best way we can. That`s the most important thing."
Woods`s spectacular fall from grace began on November 27 last year when he crashed his car into a fire hydrant near his Orlando home.
The incident touched off shocking revelations about a string of extra-marital affairs that led to his admission of adultery and subsequent decision to put his golf career on hold while he tried to rescue his marriage.
The sex scandal became fodder for tabloid newspapers and television comedians amid speculation that Woods crashed his car after being walloped by a golf club-wielding Nordegren, after she learned about his affairs.
Nordegren told People some of the jokes were "pretty hysterical," but insisted there was never any violence in their relationship and she had simply been trying to get Woods out of the locked car.
"The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is truly ridiculous," she said.
Woods, 34, was treated for sex addiction at a clinic in Mississippi in a bid to save his marriage before making his return at the Masters in April, but he has not won all season and his game has been in ruins since the scandal broke.
"It`s a sad time," Woods said. "As far as my game and practicing, that has been secondary."
Nordegren said she is close to completing her bachelor`s degree in psychology and that despite her husband`s betrayal, "I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself."
Woods and Nordegren issued a joint statement Monday acknowledging that they had ended their marriage, wishing each other the best and promising to work together for their children`s happiness.
Asked about future prospects for romance, Nordegren said: "It`s going to be just me and the kids for a little while, but I believe in love, because I`ve seen it. I`ve been there."
She also told People that she has not watched a second of golf since the split and that her interview with the magazine would be her first and last as she tries to remain a private person.
"My immediate plan is for the kids and me to continue to adjust to our new situation," she said. "I am going to keep taking classes, but my main focus is to try to give myself time to heal."
BDST: 1235 HRS, AUGUST 26, 2010
