Or 100 Million Reasons To Think Before You Cheat!
Heavy sigh from Good Enough Mother today as I read that the divorce is now final between Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren. Wow what a sordid tale with an astronomically high priced ending – apparently $100 million plus!
We remember when the news broke that the world’s greatest golfer, untouchable on the course, was felled by a car accident. I remember feeling so sorry for him right after the accident. That is until the bimbos started coming out of the woodwork and did not stop. My concern turned to ire as I wondered how he could be so stupid! How could he put his wife at risk?. How could he throw away everything that he worked so hard to build?
So now, as the ink is drying on the divorce papers, the question is – did Elin Nordegren deserve that mega settlement? Celebrity divorce attorney Raoul Felder has an interesting theory on why it cost so much and happened at such lightning speed.
Now while 100 million (if that is in fact the figure) is a lot of money, I think Elin deserves every last dime. Here’s why.
* She was integral to his image: Sure Tiger had already been crowned the world’s best golfer but it was the image of wholesome family man off the course that also helped with advertisers. They loved seeing him cuddle with his kids and even if it was not used in ad copy, it still helped sell Buicks, watches, golf clubs, Nike merchandise, whatever.
* The price of the prying media: I’m really not sure this woman will ever be able to have any normal existence based on who she is and what’s she’s been through. Maybe that money will make living in a fishbowl a bit easier.
* Combat pay: How hard must it have been for Elin to stay mum, keep her head up, go on about the business of being a mommy when day after day after day a new woman was popping up on the news talking about the crazy sex they had with her husband? Let me say right now she is a bigger woman than I to handle such scandal with such grace and class.
Some feel Elin didn’t deserve the money because she “was a nanny who set her sights on him.” (Yes, I heard that). I don’t care if she made her life’s work picking up plastic cups on the side of the highway, no one deserves to be treated that poorly. And even if she did “set her sights on him” then shame on him for marrying her in the first place (and oh, by the way, don’t we ALL set out sights on the person we marry?)
The other argument people are find of making is that she knew what she was getting into; in other words, that Tiger was a womanizer who probably would not change. Really? And how would you know that?
Tiger, who once loomed large over the game, has fallen from grace with stunning speed, definitely no longer the invincible figure he once was. There are two kids who have to deal with the fallout and God help him when they are old enough to surf the web and read all about their father’s antics.
Okay, you heard how I feel, what about you? Does Elin Nordegren deserve $100 million dollars – or is it an excessive amount for a 6 year marriage? Weigh in!
