Rachel Uchitel is notoriously known for being Tiger Woods’ mistress during his highly publicized cheating scandal. As many of us know, this scandal ultimately led to a messy divorce.
Now, after more than 10 years since this scandal happened, Rachel Uchitel is speaking out in her first ever interview. This interview is part of the upcoming HBO documentary, titled “Tiger”, which will cover the extensive details of the pro golfer’s tumultuous public image.
Rachel’s history with Tiger Woods starting during a different affair. For a time, she was involved in an affair with Derek Jeter, the renowned baseball player. Evidently, Tiger Woods was staying with Jeter in Manhattan. During a visit to Jeter’s place, Rachel met Tiger for the first time, and they hit it off as friends. However, they continued to meet after that, often in places like nightclubs. Before long, they were deep into an affair that would soon derail Tiger Woods entire career.
But there’s more to Rachel than most of us know. Before she was involved with Tiger Woods or Derek Jeter, she suffered a heart-breaking loss. Yes, Rachel was previously engaged to an investment banker named James O’Grady. Sadly, he died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. After the devastating attacks, the New York Post published a snapshot of Rachel clutching a picture of her missing fiancee on its cover.
After this tragic loss and the subsequent publicity she got during the Tiger Woods scandal, it’s a wonder that she volunteered to appear in the upcoming HBO documentary. After all, she claims that her infamous involvement with Tiger Woods cast a shadow over her life, and she fell out of favor with most of the general public.
Ultimately, she decided that she has nothing left to lose. The stigma of being involved with Tiger Woods still follows her to this day, and she realizes that’s not going to change anytime soon. By appearing in the HBO documentary, she is hoping to earn back a little bit of respect and dignity by sharing her side of the story. In her words, she’ll be able to remove the shackles that have held her back over the years, which may allow her to finally move on.
Among the things she’s revealed, the most notable is her regret of getting involved with a married Tiger Woods. She explains the struggle she had coming to terms with the hatred she received from the public, as many of them blamed her as the responsible party for Tiger Woods adulterous activity.
She also recalls a particular text message that she received from Tiger, in which he claimed that she was the only one he loved. The shocking part is that this began an unusual chain of messages that were actually sent by Tiger’s wife, Elin Nordegren, and the story behind this is perhaps even more shocking than the affair itself.
The story began on Thanksgiving night, after Tiger had taken an Ambien to help him sleep. Once he slipped into his slumber, Elin took his phone away and scrolled to find Rachel’s number. During her search, she found the messages exchanged between Rachel and Tiger. This was when she found a text from her husband to Rachel claiming that she was the only one he had ever loved.
At approximately 1 AM, She started texting Rachel pretending to be Tiger. Elin wrote that she missed her and wanted to know when they could possibly meet up with each other again. Rachel replied almost instantaneously, appearing surprised that Woods was still awake. Elin then called Rachel and revealed that she was aware of the ongoing affair, and she had suspicions that Rachel was the one involved. This finally confirmed it.
Rachel, understandably shocked, hung up the phone. This was followed by Elin’s screaming that quickly woke up Tiger. Although in a bit of a shock, Tiger managed to grab his phone and ran into the bathroom. There, he locked himself in the room and began frantically texting Rachel looking for answers. Then, Rachel confirmed to Tiger that his wife knew what was going on. Tiger assumed a divorce would be following shortly.
Meanwhile, Elin was still screaming at Tiger and demanding he come out of the bathroom. When he emerged several minutes later, she swiped his phone and caught glimpse of the last text he sent, which included the word “divorce”. She exploded, throwing her phone at Tiger and chipping his tooth. Then she scratched his face and pummeled his chest. As he wrestled his way out of her grasp, Elin reached for the nearest weapon, which unsurprisingly, happened to be a golf club.
This led to Tiger running through the house barefoot as Elin chased close behind. This activity woke up the neighbors, as now both Tiger and Elin were shouting at each other. Tiger instigated the situation, blaming Elin for ruining their Thanksgiving and asking if she was happy to be making such a scene.
In an effort to escape, Tiger hopped into his car while she got into a golf cart. It was 2:25AM when Tiger bolted out of the driveway, crushing hedges, careening into a curb, and hitting a fire hydrant just before crashing against a tree. He wound up on the street, bloody, snoring, and unconscious.
Tiger had been knocked out for about six minutes, during which time a neighbor called 911. Daniel Saylor, Windermere Police Chief, admitted that Elin was found upset and frantic. Tiger was found sliding in and out of consciousness and blood was pooling in his mouth. He attempted to talk but his words made no sense.
While waiting for an ambulance, Elin told the police that it was a mere car accident – she was in their mansion and came out when she heard the crash. Her story is that she ran out, got in her golf cart, and shortly thereafter found Tiger in her car. Then, she claimed to have used the golf club to remove him from the crashed vehicle. The cops were rightfully skeptical.
When the ambulance arrived, Elin ran back to get shoes and socks for Tiger. She returned to join Tiger in the ambulance, but a paramedic stopped her. The police report stated that the incident seemed like a case of a domestic disturbance. It also mentioned Tiger’s condition as “serious.”
Tiger and Elin’s divorce became official on August 23rd, 2010. They share two children, a son named Charlie Axel and a daughter named Sam Alexis. Tiger’s ex-wife has reportedly moved on with Jordan Cameron, a former football tight end. In 2019, Jordan Cameron and Elin welcomed a baby boy who they named Arthur.
Although they’ve moved on, the divorce was no casual proceeding. The only detail we know for certain is thatboth Elin and Tiger agreed to share the custody of their son and daughter. Presumably, the agreement spelled out how their money and belongings were divided. However, this settlement has never been made public.
The HBO documentary aired on January 10th, and if you are a fan of documentaries or Tiger Woods, it’s one that you don’t want to miss. Like any good documentary, it highlights sides of the story that haven’t been told yet. We know the highly publicized version of Tiger Woods’ downfall, yet there was so much more going on behind the scenes. Even if you have been a long-time follower of Tiger Woods’ career, there’s likely to be some new details about his career and his affair that you were not aware of.
Interestingly, the documentary is based on the book “Tiger Woods” by Armen Keteyian and Jeff Benedict. Their book explored Woods’ career, particularly how it had been shaped by the influence of his father, Earl Woods. It also explores Tiger’s upbringing, which naturally played a big role in his career pursuits. As an ambitious and well-researched piece of work, the book was a great success, and the film is expected to be as well. However, it is worth nothing that Tiger Woods did not participate in the production of either of these pieces of work.
Tiger Woods as the subject matter of a documentary is inherently dynamic, considering the dramatic ups and downs of his lengthy career. Commentaries on race, what America expects of celebrities, and the thirst to deconstruct them are all elements explored in the film. Viewers who are unfamiliar with Woods outside of his usual tournament broadcasts will be surprised to see the weight that Tiger has carried throughout his life and career.
The film highlights never-before-seen footage and interviews with individuals who know
Woods the best. These subjects include ,Steve Williams; his close friend and former caddy, Sir Nick Faldo, a golf icon; Earl Woods, his father; Pete McDaniel, his biographer and friend, Dina Parr, who is apparently Tiger’s first true love; and Rachel Uchitel, the woman at the center of the sex scandal. This dynamic group of interviewees will undoubtedly bring a fresh perspective to the career and personal life of a man whose name we know so well.
Are you looking forward to watching the Tiger documentary? Tell us your thoughts on Tiger’s career and love life in the comments! And before you go, be sure to hit the like button if you enjoyed this video. And most importantly, make sure you subscribe to Facts Verse and click the notification bell to catch more videos like this.
