Tiger Woods has decided to purge his heart in an essay in Newsweek in which he talks about the pain he has gone through in the last year.  The man who took Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ campaign literally says:

The physical pain from that car accident has long healed. But the pain in my soul is more complex and unsettling; it has been far more difficult to ease—and to understand. But this much is obvious now: my life was out of balance, and my priorities were out of order. I made terrible choices and repeated mistakes. I hurt the people whom I loved the most. And even beyond accepting the consequences and responsibility, there is the ongoing struggle to learn from my failings.

He talks about his fear of returning to golf, to public life and how it would be received:

When I first came back to golf this spring, after taking a necessary break, I was worried about how fans would treat me. But they’ve been kinder and more supportive than I ever imagined possible. That’s true away from the golf course, too. When I go to the store, or to work out, or to grab lunch, I’ve been amazed by the considerate, encouraging words I hear. I’ve realized that those sentiments are not merely courtesies but generous expressions of compassion for which I’ll always be thankful.

I don’t want to get all feminazi on here, but I’m always very intrigued by how someone like Tiger can have numerous affairs over several years and he’s high-fived and fist-bumped but LeAnn Rimes is supposed to be walking around with the scarlett letter A pinned to her. I’m not condoning any of the behaviour, nor am I a fan of LeAnn’s, but I’m just making an observation about the double standard that still exists in 2010. Although Jesse James would be the exception to the rule.

Golf made him feel invincible (read entitled):

At first, I didn’t want to look inward. Frankly, I was scared of what I would find—what I had become. But I’m grateful that I did examine my life because it has made me more grounded than I’ve ever been; I hope that with reflection will come wisdom. Golf is a self-centered game, in ways good and bad. So much depends on one’s own abilities. But for me, that self-reliance made me think I could tackle the world by myself. It made me think that if I was successful in golf, then I was invincible. Now I know that, no matter how tough or strong we are, we all need to rely on others.

But of course Tiger is a victim too:

Elin Nordegren has broken her silence and is talking to People.com but being the class act that she is, this will be her first and last interview.

She spent 19 hours over a 4 day period talking to People where she talked about the loss of a dream:

“I have been through the stages of disbelief and shock, to anger and ultimately grief over the loss of the family I so badly wanted for my children,”

I can only imagine what she felt after finding out everything.  It’s one thing to find it out period, but being in the public eye takes it to a whole new level you never want to imagine.

Despite it all, she is stronger than ever:

“I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself.”

She shares what her focus and goals are:

“My immediate plan is for the kids and me to continue to adjust to our new situation. I am going to keep taking classes, but my main focus is to try to give myself time to heal,”

Photo:  WENN

Fox News is reporting that Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren‘s divorce settlement has been agreed to and it’s a matter of signing off at this point which is expected to be done in the next week or so.

Elin is making celebrity divorce history by receiving a staggering $750 Million payout! In addition to that she gets sole physical custody of the kids but has to remain silent for the rest of her life which means no tell-all books, interviews, etc.  Even if he dies! She can never speak about it.

In addition to Tiger losing almost $1 Billion, he is not allowed to have any of his girlfriends around the children.  The only exception would be if he married one of them.  According to a friend of Elin’s:

“Elin is desperate to protect the children from the womanizing side of their father “Tiger’s main fear is her telling her story after he’s rebuilt his reputation, sending him back to the gutter.”

Elin gets sole physical custody but they share legal custody which means she can not move to Sweden permanently. The friend goes on to say:

“Elin admits that despite everything, Tiger loves his kids and has been a decent dad. ”She is confident he will not pursue seeing the children that much, due to his work and lifestyle.”

If there is one thing we know, Tiger is the most important person in Tiger’s life. I feel sorry for the kids because when they get older and can understand things better it’s going to be brutal for them.

What do you think of the purported settlement?

Update: According to TMZ the settlement is much less than the $750 reported earlier by Fox News but it is still more than her original prenup.

Photo: Judy Eddy/WENN