The Real Reason Tiger Woods' Former Mistress Is Speaking Out About Their Relationship

Tiger Woods is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. He holds a place in history among a select few, such as Michael Phelps or Michael Jordon, or Serena Williams — athletes who seem to be supernaturally good at what they do. No matter your sport, if you're doing it professionally, you're training for hours a day, every day, following a strict diet, employing all kinds of physical therapists and other specialists, and you're often on the road and away from your family. On top of all of that, if you're at the top of your game, you're also subject to a higher level of public scrutiny, and you know what they say, the higher you climb, the further you fall.

Woods learned this the hard way when he was involved in a cheating scandal that dominated headlines for months. Back in 2009, Woods, who was married to Elin Nordegren at the time, found his name splashed across the front page as woman after woman come forward claiming to be his mistress. 

To the surprise of exactly no one, Woods and Nordegren divorced, and Woods took a nice long break from golf. He came back to wild success years later, and things seemed to be back on track. Now, his former mistress is speaking out about the scandal, her relationship with Woods, and the public backlash their fling caused. Read on to find out what she has to say.

Nearly a decade after the Tiger Woods cheating scandal rocked the sports world, the athlete's former mistress, Rachel Uchitel, is speaking out as part of the upcoming HBO documentary, Tiger, which chronicles the athlete's prolific career, per People. "I have been silent for over a decade now," Uchitel told Extra in January 2021. "I have spent all these years letting people think what they want to think and say what they want to say," she added. "I needed to take the shackles off and be able tell my story for me."

Uchitel's decision to begin and maintain a relationship with the married golfer in 2009 has haunted her ever since. She told Extra that she is finally speaking publicly about the scandal because she no longer wants it to define her. "The whole thing has made my life a living hell for the last 10 years, and I wanted to tell my story on HBO because I wanted people to see what really happened. I was not a mistress, and I was in a real relationship, and I want people to leave me alone about it."

"I wish people would be understanding about it," she said. "Maybe look inside themselves and realize that maybe they've made a mistake like that." Uchitel will speak more in-depth about her relationship with Woods in the upcoming two-part documentary, which premieres on Jan. 10 and Jan. 17.