Tiger Woods has certainly had a rollercoaster timeline of tragic events dating back to November of 2009. Whether it be him driving into a fire hydrant and a tree in his driveway in Orlando, Florida. Or something more recent like his arrest on the suspicion of driving under the influence in Jupiter, Florida— the golf pro has been through a lot throughout his career. Not to mention Woods has also suffered a fair share of injuries which had kept him off the playing field. He suffered several back injuries as well as an MCL sprain and achilles tendon, both causing him to miss sometime. Since 2009, many people thought this man wouldn’t be able to play another round of golf because of his mishaps and troubled past.
However, since then Woods has defied the odds and showed signs of making a comeback since stepping back on the golf course. He stated recently that he would be competing in the Washington-area tournament benefitting his foundation this summer— his first appearance in the event since 2015.
One of Woods' life events during his time in the PGA’s was his relationship with Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. She is arguably the most talented women’s skier of all time. She began skiing at a very young age— competing at the olympics at the age of 17. She has also won the overall world cup for three consecutive years.
However, the relationship between Woods and Vonn, didn’t work out. And this article takes a look at 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Their Failed Relationship
15 They Met In 2012 And Bonded Over Athletics
Woods was the PGA pro golf star, and Vonn was the best female skier in the world, which eventually led to the two instantly bonding over athletics. Vonn described this bond saying, “We’re athletes, so I guess we have something in common there,” she said. “We met at his charity event in Vegas, Tiger Jam, and, yeah, we were friends for a long time. I don’t know, we just kind of relate really well to one another,” Vonn told David Letterman.
Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn met at a charity event back in 2012. Vonn was going through a divorce with skier Thomas Vonn, who she married in 2007. The couple was officially divorced in January 2013. Although Vonn initially tried to deny her relationship with Woods, it broke out and many people began to know about it.
14 The Couple Trained With Each Other During Their Recovery
Injury can certainly be a setback in any athletes career. Whether it be a minor injury like an ankle sprain, or something more serious like a MCL tear— it can certainly be a tough obstacle for any athlete to bounce back from.
However, Vonn and Woods didn’t have to go through this alone. Turns out, the two both suffered serious injuries during similar times in their careers, and they trained together to help overcome those injures as Vonn stated in an interview:
"I think we both helped each other a lot through that time, and I drew a lot of inspiration from him and I think he does the same with me."
The two clearly showed that type of encouragement and motivation during tough times throughout their careers.
13 Vonn Wishes Woods Would Have Listened More
If there's anything one could learn from being in any relationship its that listening and communicating with each other is a two way street. And if one isn’t fully listening or invested in the other person— chances are the relationship won’t last long. And for Woods and Vonn, this was just one of the problems for their relationship.
Vonn testified to this past obstacle in the relationship. She said while she still maintains a healthy relationship with Tiger to this day and that she has no ill feelings towards him, there was one thing she would have changed: “I mean. … I was in love,” Vonn said. “I loved him and we’re still friends. Sometimes, I wish he would have listened to me a little more, but he’s very stubborn and he likes to go his own way.” Woods obviously is a big name, so it could have been a case of Tiger just being Tiger.
12 She Was Tired Of Tiger Taking The Spotlight
During their relationship, Vonn attended almost every event of Tiger's. She went to all the majors, all the award dinners and all the press conferences. Her continuous support for him during his time in the pros prior to his incident was evident and she clearly was supportive of him.
However, Vonn also said that at times, the attention Tiger drew was very hard on her. She also felt after a while that rather than being recognized as an amazing skier, she was just being seen as Tiger's girlfriend. "Wherever he's around, we're living in a fishbowl. I didn't quite know what I was getting myself into.“Some people seem to forget that I'm not just Tiger's girlfriend," she said. “ I’m a successful athlete and I have my life too.”
11 They Didn’t Have Time To See Each Other
Sometime a relationship doesn't work out because of constant disagreements and arguing with the other person. However, for others, it's just being too busy to see the other person. And this was evident of Woods' and Vonn's relationship as well.
Woods got into this a little bit saying, “Well, with Lindsey, what was hard is we never had time together,” Woods said. “We’re texting each other. It was a great relationship, but it was so hard, when I’m training to do my sport, it takes umpteen hours to do, and I can’t travel, except to my tournaments, because I’m here dedicated to my two kids.”
Making time to see the other person is key, and unfortunately these two weren’t able to make it work.
10 Their Breakup Was Revealed Via Facebook
Announcing a breakup in a relationship can be tough for any couple to do. However, when done publicly like Woods and Vonn did on Facebook, it can sometimes receive some backlash if not handled properly.
However, it seemed that Vonn handled the breakup pretty well evident from this Facebook post announcing the end of the relationship. Vonn said the following, “After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship. I will always cherish the memories that we’ve created together. Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our time apart. I will always admire and respect Tiger. He and his beautiful family will always hold a special place in my heart,” Vonn said that she still loves Woods and wishes him nothing but the best in his achievements.
9 Friends Spread Rumors About Tiger
While Vonn clearly stated that the reason for their breakup was because the couple was “too busy” or “invested” in their sports, the paparazzi will usually tell you something completely different. In a rumor that likely got started due to Tiger's past relationship habits, rumors began popping up that the real reason behind the breakup was Woods' old habits catching up to him.
One rumor was that Woods became a little too friendly with Amanda Boyd, the ex wife of the PGA Champion Jason Dufner, which Woods denied. Woods's agent would respond with the following: “I couldn’t deny this more vehemently. There is less than zero strand of truth to it. 100 percent false. 100 percent fabricated and zero credence. Absolutely, unequivocally untrue. They are not even acquaintances. It’s absolutely ridiculous."
8 Vonn Regrets Dating Woods So Soon After Divorce
The Olympic skier had filed for divorced from former alpine ski racer with the US ski team Thomas Vonn after four years of marriage in 2013. It was certainly a tough time for Vonn with her Olympic events and everything else she was probably going through. And it was certainly tough considering everything the couple had gone through.
Vonn opened up about the difficulty of dating Woods so soon after her divorce with Thomas Vonn saying "Thomas was really my first boyfriend, so I didn’t have a lot of dating experience. So jumping into a relationship right away after getting a divorce was probably not the smartest move on my part."
Since her breakup with Woods, Vonn has gone on to date Alexander Ludwig and NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith, but she's now single.
7 Vonn Was In Monte Carlo When Tiger Was Pulled Over
When Tiger Woods was charged with that unfortunate DUI incident and clearly in a rough situation, the Olympic skier was living it up in Monte Carlo— evident from this Instagram post to her 1 million+ followers.
On the Instagram post Vonn stated “Thankful for great friends and fun adventures but keeping my eyes on the horizon, the future is bright.”
Vonn was also seen taking a selfie with with Rams wide receiver and her boyfriend at the time Kenan Smith. Clearly Vonn's memorial day weekend was better than her ex's. For her part though, Vonn never threw any shade at Tiger, even when most exes could have very easily done so. Rather, Vonn chose to stand up for him. Speaking of that...
6 Vonn Still Supports Tiger
Let’s go T!!! https://t.co/uc9a9lKiL2
— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) March 11, 2018
When making his comeback at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Woods made three birdies on four holes on the back nine during the event. And few others were more excited than Lindsey Vonn. As Tiger pulled off the remarkable recovery to save par on 14 during this event, Vonn took to her Twitter page and encouraged her ex boyfriend.
“Im pretty sure golf has just gotten popular again, let's go!”
Vonn was rooting for Woods as he put together a second place finish at the Valspar Championship as well. It seems that despite their breakup, Vonn has still supported Woods throughout his comeback which is nice to see moving forward. If only more former partners were able to act with that much class.
5 The Two Would Get Competitive With Each Other
Prior to Woods' major injuries and life threatening incidents, he was quite successful on the golf course. And he holds a staggering list of accomplishments. He holds the record for most birdies in a round with 4.92. He holds the highest green in regulation percentage in 200 with 75%. And Woods was the youngest player to win the Masters Tournament at the age of just 21.
Although Woods is a great golfer and Vonn is a great skier, the two always maintained a healthy level of competition. Vonn opened up about the more competitive aspects about their relationship back when they were going out. “We play ping pong and he beats me pretty much all the time, he wins at everything, except skiing.”
4 Their Relationship Was Always In The Spotlight
When the couple first started dating, the paparazzi absolutely loved them. Whether it be following them at Tiger's tours or Vonn's skiing, they followed them everywhere and it was hard at times for the couple to have time alone. When Vonn had broken the record at the World Cup in Italy, Woods was anxiously waiting to surprise her at the finish line.
However, when the two were constantly caught on camera together whether it was at Woods' golf tournaments or Vonn's skiing events, it was a difficult thing to deal with for the couple and maybe another reason why the relationship didn't work out. It's the equivalent of two A-listers in Hollywood getting into a relationship, and we all know how difficult it is for those relationships to work.
3 The Two Stayed Out Of Each Other's Sports Business
Giving honest critiques and opinions can sometimes help a relationship. It can help a relationship prosper because it can allow the couple to have opposing opinions, but maintain a healthy conversation.
However, for Woods and Vonn's relationship, this wasn't their approach. “I don’t give him a lot of feedback about his golf game,” Vonn said. “We talk golf after his golf rounds, but mostly I listen. We really are normal in that way. Lots of people go home and talk to their wife or husband about their job. That’s what we do.”
Whatever the reason was, the couple chose this approach and it's unlikely it had any effect on the end result of the relationship.
2 Vonn Said Their Breakup Made Her Stronger
From the moment the couple had announced they were an item until they announced their breakup on a Facebook post in 2015, Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods as previously mentioned, were one of the most talked about couples in sports. In fact, in an interview with E News to promote her new book “Strong is beautiful”, Vonn admitted to the difficulty of the relationship saying “It was really hard, it was like life in a fishbowl”. She also said: “Everyone’s looking at you and judging you and commenting on what they think is right or wrong.”
However, the olympic skier also said that this has made her stronger. “Being able to block out the noise and other peoples opinions, and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks as long as you’re happy.” For Vonn, she always seemed to look at the big picture, despite this failed relationship with Woods.
1 Vonn And Woods Have Since Dated Other People
Moving on from a relationship can be tough for any couple to do. However, it seems that these two have been able to make it work for the time being. Vonn dated former NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith for a year, but they broke up in December 2017. Woods was seen with Erica Herman, the general manager of The Woods, the golfer’s restaurant in Jupiter, Florida. Herman wore a “player spouse” credential at the event. Between Herman and Vonn, Woods briefly dated Kristin Smith.
Despite this rocky relationship and breakup, it seems like the two have moved on and have been supporting each other as they have gone their separate ways. Overall, you really have to commend the two for staying so cordial and friendly post relationship.