Being the child of a big-time movie star is probably a very nice thing indeed. There are no end of benefits that come with it, though at the same time it can be stressful as well. This includes the children of sports stars.
By a young age, Charlie Woods, son of legendary golfer Tiger Woods turned out to be a great golfer, just like his father. He’s experienced some drama while growing up, including his parent’s high-profile, public divorce, but these days he’s a teenager who loves playing golf.
Judging from pictures of him today, he’s turning out to look just like his parents!
We’ll start off by taking a look into how it all started, back when Charlie’s parents, Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods, first met.
Swedish professional golfer Jesper Parnevik, who lived in the US, had hired Nordegren as a nanny for his children. It was Parnevik who introduced Woods and Nordegren to each other during the Open Championship in 2001.
The year before, Woods had insisted on meeting Nordegren, but she was dating another man at the time. As a result, it was far from set in stone that Woods would get the chance to even meet her. According to Parnevik’s wife, Mia Parnevik, many golf pros were interested in their beautiful blonde nanny.
For her part, Nordegren, who dreamed of becoming a child psychologist, initially had no interest in dating Woods.
“Tiger was OK with that,” Mia Parnevik said. “There was a big line of single golfers wanting to meet her. They were gaga over her.”
But somehow their paths crossed and Woods and Nordegren eventually fell in love. They got engaged in 2003 during a four-day vacation to a South African game reserve.
The couple married the following year, at the 19th hole at the Sany Lane resort in Barbados. The wedding ceremony was described as “ultra-private” – among the guests were celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.
The couple had two children together. In 2007, their daughter Sam Alexis was born, and in 2009, Nordegren gave birth to a boy, Charlie Axel.
But the fact that the marriage was under severe pressure became very clear in 2009. In December that year, all hell broke loose when Tiger Woods’ extramarital affairs were exposed in the media. The man who introduced Woods to Nordegren, Parnevik, was remorseful.
“I’m kind of filled with sorrow for Elin since me and my wife are at fault for hooking her up with him, and we probably thought he was a better guy than he is,” he said.
Woods took a break from golf to focus on the family and his marriage, but too much had been ruined. The couple divorced in 2010; Nordegren is said to have received $100 million in the settlement. She was also awarded monthly child support of $20,000, as well as the couple’s home in Windermere, Florida.
These days, the former model lives in a new, luxurious home.
Following Woods and Nordegren’s divorce, the couple agreed to have a civil relationship to make it easy for their children. They still co-parent them together.
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