It’s a wrap for Tiger Woods marriage and probably half of his billion dollar fortune!!!
Elin Nordegren has begun her revenge, hiring herself a divorce lawyer and a removals firm while the beleaguered golfer cuts himself off from even his closest friends.
Striking the first blow in her counter-attack after three weeks of revelations over her husband’s extra-marital affairs, Elin is said to have hired Los Angeles-based Sorrell Trope, 82, who boasts of being “one of the pre-eminent family law attorneys in the United States”, with experience in handling big-money, big-name cases. Past celebrity clients have included Cary Grant, Britney Spears and Nicole Kidman.
A removals team has also been seen removing boxes and packages, including artwork, from the couple’s home in Orlando, Florida, after receiving instruction from Ms Nordegren. The mother-of-two is planning on heading “somewhere warm and Tiger-free” for Christmas with her children. “She’s made up her mind. There’s nothing to think about. He’s never going to change,” a source told People magazine.
But her reported intention to file for divorce in California, whose community property laws may make for a more generous settlement than in her home state of Florida, could face complications. Californian law requires that at least one of the parties must be a resident of the State for six months immediately before any petition is filed.
“Particularly with children involved, who I believe have lived in Florida, you can’t get around that easily,” said John Wallace, a divorce attorney in Orlando.
“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to have done a good job drawing up a pre-nup. That’s where she’s going to have difficulty. You can’t deal with childrens issues in a pre-nup….This is the kind of divorce that’s a lawyer’s dream. You could have lawyers fighting over several different issues in different states.”
Woods, 33, has not been seen in public since he left hospital after the November 27 car crash that knocked him unconscious outside his home in Orlando after his wife discovered his affairs.
Charles Barkley, a retired basketball player, complained that neither he nor Michael Jordan, a fellow basketball legend, have been able to contact him, despite being close friends.
“He changed his number,” Mr Barkley told the HLN network’s With All Due Respect programme. “I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous, who has been through things in your life.”
Spike Lee, the film director, said: “He’s insulated….These are his boys. If Charles and Michael can’t get to him, then other people are making bad moves.”
But Mr Barkley may not be the kind of friend Ms Nordegren hopes her husband will turn to. In an interview with the website RadarOnline today, Jamie Jungers, one of Woods’ alleged 14 mistresses, revealed that Mr Barkley partied alongside Woods as part of his “billionaire boys club” in Las Vegas.
“I gambled with him and Charles Barkley one night for hours. He played blackjack and I sat there with him (Woods) while he played…$25,000 a hand or more,” said Ms Jungers, a cocktail waitress.
“He (Woods) would occasionally put his hand on my leg but it was underneath the table. …He was drinking, smoking cigars, he was partying.”
Cameron Percy, a golfer who paired with Woods in the final round of the Australian Masters last month, recalled a different side to the world number one.
“I remember him talking about how good Skype (video-conferencing) was for his wife and kids,” he told the Hamilton Spectator in Australia, adding of the tournament: “It was the best day of my life, and I suppose it’s tainted a bit.”
