Rachel Uchitel, Erica Herman and Tiger Woods. Courtesy Rachel Uchitel/Instagram, Shutterstock
Tiger Woods‘ former flame Rachel Uchitel — one of several women the pro golfer had an affair with during his marriage to Elin Nordegren — is weighing in on the athlete’s messy split from Erica Herman.
“Sounds familiar,” the media personality, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, March 8, when talking about Herman’s attempt to get out of the NDA agreement she signed at the beginning of her romance with Woods, 47.
“I fought this on my own for over a decade, but my circumstances were different,” Uchitel explained to Us, noting that “there is a big difference between [an NDA] signed at the commencement of a relationship for parties to agree not share confidential information, and then the signing of an NDA to cover up bad behavior. The latter can ruin your life.”
Days after news of her affair with Woods broke in 2009, Uchitel signed a nearly 30-page non-disclosure agreement, per The New York Times — a document that promised him her silence in exchange for $5 million at the time and $1 million per year. She told the outlet in 2021 that the NDA still runs her life. Still, Uchitel was able to speak about the 2009 affair with Woods in the 2021 HBO documentary, Tiger.
Herman, for her part, began dating Woods in 2017. According to court documents obtained by Us earlier this month, Herman filed a $30 million lawsuit against the PGA Tour champion’s trust in October 2022, claiming that he used “trickery” to evict her from their Florida home, which violated the “oral tenancy agreement” they had previously established which allowed her to live there.
“Specifically, by trickery, agents of [Woods] convinced [Herman] to pack a suitcase for a short vacation and, when she arrived at the airport, they told her she had been locked out of her residence, in violation of the oral tenancy agreement and in violation of Florida law,” the court documents stated. “They then informed her she was not allowed to return to her Residence and, without legal counsel to aid in her in this emotional moment, they utilized a lawyer to confront her with proposals to resolve the wrongdoing they were in the midst of committing.”
In their response, Woods’ trust claimed that due to the former restaurant owner’s NDA with the World Golf Champion, she must resolve “any and all disputes, claims or controversies” with Woods through confidential arbitration, further alleging that Herman “seeks to gain leverage by litigating her disputes with Mr. Woods in a public forum.” The entity also denied the existence of an oral tenancy agreement.
Rachel Uchitel. Courtesy Rachel Uchitel/Instagram
“Arbitration is where NDAs go to get buried, essentially,” Uchitel told Us about Woods’ team’s response. “It’s all very quiet and tidy in an arbitration. And no one gets to hear about it ever again.”
Herman also isn’t willing to drop the issue. According to court documents obtained by Us, she claimed that their NDA is “invalid and unenforceable” due to the Speak Out Act, which “prohibits the judicial enforceability of a nondisclosure clause or nondisparagement clause agreed to before a dispute arises involving sexual assault or sexual harassment in violation of federal, tribal, or state law,” per Congress.
Uchitel, for her part, is starting her own podcast, “Miss Understood With Rachel Uchitel,” in order to help those, like herself, who have been “reduced to a single headline” to change their narrative.
“Each episode will take a closer look at the stories of those who are on a mission to change their narrative,” she explained to Us of the podcast that’s scheduled to launch the week of March 14. “Through raw and honest conversations, we will reveal the human behind the headline. We will uncover the truth behind the misconceptions, shed light on the stories of those who have perhaps been wrongfully portrayed, explore the complexities of the human experience, and celebrate the power of second chances.”