Reports seem to be emerging that Elin wants to stay married for the sake of her children.

And, of course, the cynics are piling in to say she's doing it for the money.

The idea of a betrayed spouse not dumping the cheater straight off and taking him/her for all they can, is laughed at, as most of us know. It seems to occur to so few people that ending a marriage where young children are involved is not something to be done lightly, even when the cheating is as awful and humiliating as Tiger's.

What does she do? Dump him and get the lawyers in, thereby keeping the sympathy of much of the public? Or struggle to rebuild the marriage on healthier grounds, to keep the family together and perhaps show the children a father who can atone for his marital crimes? Thereby suffering comments like that of Phil from Brisbane on an Australian forum (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,1,26470735-952,00.html):


So many people think that way.

Having a ton of money takes away some of the fear, but she's still a betrayed wife who clearly is intensely distressed.

Poor, poor woman.

TA, that poster is ignoring the fact that (as I understand it), Woods was unfaithful during the courtship and from the very beginning of the marriage, and throughout. I doubt he married a woman who was unloving or a "fridge" during the courtship, since there was no gun put to his head. She must have been loving for him to have married her, and yet he was being unfaithful even then.

If he chose to be unfaithful before the marriage even started, before she could show herself to be unwilling to meet his needs, before she asked her mother to visit to see her small grandchildren, then the affairs had nothing to do with weaknesses in the marriage, but with weaknesses in Woods.

It's a shame that many people will think as that poster does. I hope that Elin can consider her options without being swayed by public opinion, whether it supports or blames her.

Elin needs to do what is right for HER. This is a great lesson that the opinions of others are irrelevant. Those people don't live her life for her, so hopefully she is mature enough to just tune them all out. Who cares what other people think?

I think everything so far has shown Elin to be the kind of wife Tiger should be profoundly grateful to have.

It's just a salutary reminder of how difficult it can be to take the MB approach after a spouse's cheating, when so many people around you want you to dump the b*m, and advise you so constantly.

It was bad enough in my quiet neck of the woods (sorry), never mind with the world looking on.

TA

People don't cheat because their marriages are bad.

Their marriages are bad because they cheat.

I sure wish more folks understood this. "Phil from Australia" is an idiot. I wouldn't be surprised if he is a WS who got caught and therefore had to blame the BS.

I hope Elin does leave him (a really good Plan B) and stays pitch-dark. If and when he gets his act together, then they can talk about getting back together. Otherwise, I don't think he'd have any reason to change - not as long as he can behave as horribly as he did but *still* get to keep his family.

All reports say that he was having unprotected sex with party girls and full-fledged hookers pretty much the whole time he was with Elin - including her TWO pregnancies. You've got to be one cold-blooded assh*le to expose somebody to that.

She can't take him back. She just can't - at least, not for a good long time. He'll never change if she stays with him now. Why should he?
Mulan

P.S. Oh, and the skanks are all mad because they all swear they thought they were the only one for Tiger. He really laid it on thick in the text messages. How can a party girl or an escort be so stupid as to fall for that? Haven't they heard it all?

Oh, yeah - I know plenty of folks are calling Elin a wh*re if she stays and takes the money Tiger is offering. They act like they don't know the difference between a wife and a wh*re and even insist there is no difference.

But here's my definitions:

A wife/partner will be offered something to STAY.

A wh*re is always paid to LEAVE.

Mulan

Maybe, but this particular wife/partner should LEAVE, especially if Cheetah Weeds pays the hooers for anything!

What will be "interesting" from the sidelines, IMHO, is if Weeds gets professional help for his "addiction" (and I sure hope that isn't his 'excuse du jour' for being a cheat) and the professional manages 2 keep the marriage 2gether, how successful is he likely 2 be, as a recovered addict with nearly a billion dollars, if 11 more hooers throw themselves at him at some later date?

I just don't see this ending well.

...might be fun 2 watch him on a multi-part Dr Phil episode, though.

-ol' 2long

Well the problem in discussing celebrity cases is that we can't really know the truth.

If Elin really was physically abusive, then the marriage is not worth saving.

If Tiger really did only marry her as a publicity stunt to polish his image, then the marriage is not worth saving because it would be a fake marriage anyway, so who cares if it's saved?

If either of these things are true, then this is not your typical case of a marriage that went wrong because of an affair.

And a wife/partner offered something MONETARY to stay when she knows that the marriage is fake, is still a wh*re. A wife stays for love, not for money.

I will concede however that I could be wrong about either of these conditions (physical abuse, fake marriage).

At first I was thinking that a prerequisite to any reconciliation with Tiger would require absolutely, positively not a single night spent apart.

Granted with his profession and with two small children that would be tough (but not impossible to do). He's got enough money to only play in tournaments his whole family can attend. Problem is that when the kids reach school age this becomes a huge hassle say when the British Open rolls around. Also...she won't be able to keep an eye on him 24/7 even if she's there and he's got "friends" (and always will have "friends") that will cover and help him get whatever he wants.

However, the answer COULD BE that IF and WHEN Elin Poja's an overnight separation and/or just about all the time...he basically will be required to wear a GPS tracking device AND a video/audio wire 24/7 which is broadcast to a secured website that only Elin (and/or a trusted friend or two have access to). If only Elin has access it must be set up to record every moment so he doesn't get sly and mess around after he knows she's asleep.

I doubt the entitled fool will go for it...but it COULD BE a condition in the likely ongoing negotiations to keep her around. If she's smart, she won't let him out of her sight again.

A dog on a leash can become a good dog.

Mr. Wondering

Still a dog, though.

I am here to tell you that Phil from Brisbane is the exception rather than the rule here in Australia.

Phil is of the species known as redneck.The further north one travels here the redder the necks become.Rednecks drink a LOT of beer and always think in terms of winners and losers. That is why they watch endless games of footie on the big screen at the pub

To a person like Phil, Tiger is the ultimate alpha male who can hit a ball with a stick better than anyone else in the world.What a winner!!

Tiger is completely hooked on the endorphins associated with his winning status The ladies of the night reinforce this sense of identity. What a huge fantasy to have to keep afloat.He only knows how to win. He has never learned how to negotiate or compromise.

All a's are win/lose situations

Ultimately would you regard him as a winner or a loser?

I think some of this speculation about Elin might have been warrented IF...

Tiger had a single affair, he did not have the resources to do anything he wanted, and was a humble man.

He apparently had many and continuing affair (If the news is to be believed), he is fully capable of dealing with her if she was abusive, and he is NOT a humble man. None of this can be blamed on Elin Woods, she didn't have time to mess up the marriage if all is to be believed.

As for her wanting to save the marriage, if that is her wish more power to her.

I thought it odd that Jasper Parnivik (sp), the golfer and his W that introduced ELin to Tiger was a bit harsh with his condemnation of Tiger, saying if they knew then what they know now they would have never introduced her to him. However, I am guessing he knew of all of the other affairs at that point, and guess what he and his W do have reason to feel bad for introducing them, he was a lowlife from the beginning, if all is to be believed.

JL

Elin will have the papparazi on her side for a long while who would LOVE to catch Tiger with Bimbo #22. This may be the one time that a BS doesn't have to pay a private detective to track their wayward since it'll be done for FREE and the photos will be plastered across magazines and newspapers around the world.

In other words, Tiger will not be invisible anymore unless he really, really tries. He will be followed into every bar, hotel, party, Starbucks for a long, long time. A photo with him and another woman will fetch plenty of $. Now that Tiger's gig is up and his MO is becoming public, he will be a watched man.

Even Joe Q. Public will be paying attention to Tiger's antics.

Ain't that the truth!!!

I haven't been watching much of the TWs junk...it brings up too much pain for me right now. However, there is one thing that keeps running through my mind: HOW did he get away with it for so long? Does anyone else feel like the media protected him? I know that doesn't make sense because trash mags don't care to protect anyone....but I just don't see how it is possible that the most famous athlete in the world could manage to be such a cheater and not be caught sooner.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas....Thats what they are sayin'

Best thing that ever happened to him.

Hello JL,

I�m not sure if he knew or not, the word is that a great many of Tiger�s fellow pros knew the score on Tiger, or at least they suspected. I admire Jesper�s comments as the lone voice to step outside the fraternity. His comments brought tremendous pressure on Tiger no doubt.

Elin lived as a nanny for Jesper and his wife two years prior to Jesper introducing Tiger to her. His comments are a clear signal to Elin that he was unaware of Tiger�s harem.

My opinion is that Tiger owes him an apology and a thank you.

Perhaps some insight from a fellow Scandi (although Norwegian), Swedes are a tribal bunch, meaning that they tend to stick together and support one another. Also, your reputation and whether you are a 'good person' is important in the culture, along with a strong sense of family, particularly with Jesper's generation and older. Cheating on your wife happens, of course, but the cheater is definitely seen as the bad guy and cheating is not excused, downplayed or laughed about as much as it is in the US.

I did not find it harsh and thought it was refreshing that someone finally stood up and scolded a high profile adulterer and made it clear that cheating is a terrible thing to do.

I was a bit surprised at the many jokes I heard. I see adultery as a form of severe spousal abuse and I don't think it's amusing. IMHO, making jokes about it gives people the impression that it's not so bad afterall.

Also, while I agree that if Tiger was cheating from the start of their relationship, then this is not a question of unmet needs. However, even if the cheating did not start until years after the marriage and there were unmet needs, there is still no excuse for adultery and even subtle references to blaming Elin seem wrong to me.

If we really want society to uphold families and the sanctity of marriage, then we should each do our part to dispell some of the common myths of adultery when the opportunity arises.