It's finally over. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren are officially divorced. Woods and Nordegren appeared at the Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Florida, to execute the final agreement.
The divorce was a financial bonanza for Elin, the 30-year-old woman who walked away with no less than a $100 million settlement after five years of marriage. This amount gives her a fortune that rivals the wealthiest players in the NBA. Some would say that Elin paid a price for the money, which consisted of having a husband who spent quite a bit of his free time with quite a few women.
"We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future," the couple said in a statement. "While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us."
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The statement doesn't give the details of the couple's divorce settlement. But both Woods and Nordegren claim that they wanted to do what was best for their children. One of the key issues in the divorce settlement was the custody of their two children, Sam and Charlie, who are three and one years old.
Tiger Woods' life has appeared to be on an odd downward spiral since his car accident last November. What many thought to be a simple crash opened up a Pandora's Box of complexities about Woods' personal life. Out of that box came a long list of "models," porn stars and cocktail waitresses, leading America to conclude that the golden boy of Madison Avenue was actually a little rusty under the hood.
Since that time, we've come to redefine what we know about Tiger. My hope is that he is now more comfortable with himself, given that he must no longer carry around the facade of perfection that was likely stressful to maintain. He has grown a goatee (clearly the sign of a man with a propensity for devious behavior -- I have a goatee myself, just kidding... or maybe not), and his golf game appears to have suffered from his distractions.
While we might be tempted to see recent events as the downfall of Tiger Woods, the truth is that some feel that he is going to be just fine. He still earns more money in a year than any of us will earn in a lifetime. He is still the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world. Woods has won 14 major championships, more than almost any golfer in history. I also hope he's still going to be a good dad.
As I discuss in my book
'Financial Lovemaking 101,' the truth is that men like Tiger shouldn't get married until they're over the age of 35. I am not one to judge whether it's right or wrong to have a lot of girlfriends, but the things you can do freely as a single man can cost you all of your money if you're married. If a person is not ready for monogamy, they should avoid the commitment of marriage and not feel guilty about it. But you see celebrities ignore this warning regularly, and in nearly every single case, "infidelity" is cited as one of the reasons for the marital breakup, costing the celeb millions of dollars. Secondly, our greatest wealth comes from things that are non-financial. So, even though Tiger has more money than any of us can even fathom, I wouldn't trade places with him for anything. I imagine that if the rumors of his personal life are even partially true, the troubles of his divorce are only the beginning of deeper issues.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
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Comments: (15)
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By: valentine on 8/24/2010 7:05AM
I have no tears for Tiger. He should've learnt from OJ Simpson. The American punitive measures for infidelity is warped. Now his wife will use his hard-earned money to date countless other men. Has anyone actually found out if this blonde was satisfying her husband? It's the ruse they always make for super-rich celebrities. Point is, don't marry if you are very rich. A bad-hearted wench will always con her way to wealth by acting the saint. Enough said.
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By: Trudy on 8/24/2010 12:49PM
My question is this. I know he had to take care of his children, but didn't he have a pre-nup like some of the others concerning the wife? I just wondered how that worked and in fact did he have one at all?
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By: TINA on 8/24/2010 11:11PM
EXACTLY!!!! Tiger was wealthy way before he got with her. He had already earned his wealth as a single man. I will never understand how people swoop in and get to lay claim to something they had no part in helping you with. That's why if I should ever marry.... the few little belongings that I do have will be placed in a prenup and I refuse to share my hard earned anything!!!! Her azz was already going to be taking care of because of the kids... what did she do to deserve $100 million? She wasn't with him from day one! Sorry... but I AM NOT SHARING!!!!
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By: Clinesha18 on 8/25/2010 2:06PM
"The High Cost of Infidelity"??? It was gonna cost high no matter why they broke up. If they had split over putting down the toilet seat, it still was gonna cost his black ass. A black woman probably wouldn't have gotten 1/2 that amount.
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By: PATTYPATTY on 8/24/2010 2:03PM
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THESE ASSHOLES TO SEE THE LIGHT ?
I FEEL NO PITY FOR TIGER WOODS. THE WOMAN WAS PORBABLY GOING TO DIVORCE HIM ANYWAY.SHE GOT PAID.
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By: Vernon on 8/25/2010 9:41AM
Tiger needed the relief of his actions. I am deeply sorry about the children. Life isn,t the choice of what we want to do. That will always catch up with you. Jesus Chris is the answer to all of our problems. I know he is. Tiger and Elin, take care of the children. Pray always.
God loves both os you.
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By: David Smith on 8/25/2010 11:18AM
my comment is this, when they got married it was for LOVE, thru sickness & health, good times and bad. What happened to the sickness part? He' has a sickness. There was no love from the start, Just wanted the money
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By: trina on 8/25/2010 11:39AM
YES HE DID HAVE pre-nup
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By: Trind on 8/25/2010 1:18PM
Dr. Boyce sounds envious. He keep referring to all that money Tiger Woods has made. If he's really concerned about him being a good father. Why doesn't he offer his help? Unfortunately, Tiger Woods was doing what men do...women too. I have no ear for his wife. I believe that chick was all about "his" money from day one. I would bet my last dollar, she pushed hard for marriage and he wanted her. My advice to Tiger....don't get married again. You have too much money for that. Your main attraction is money and the perks of fame. 99% of the women you are involved with, want your money and perks from your fame. It's just the truth. You've earned your money...keep it. Many, will do anything for money and money mean more to them than anything else.
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By: Golda from NYC on 8/25/2010 3:57PM
Sorry well not really I am not, not for Tiger and most certainly not for Erin. Tiger so many beautiful women out there you had to go marry your friend's nanny, maybe it was her color not her profession. I have nothing against race but really all those you cheat with also blonde skinny minnies well. Erin well no complaints should come from her, she knew she was marrying celebrity, the highest paid one at that so she thought she would be the eternal qUEEN COME ON NOW. To come out with 100 million in 5 years I mean WOW WOW wow. yOU MADE OUT GREAT AND GAVE HIM A BEATING, NEARLY KILLED HIM WITH THE GULF CLUB, AND NOT GETTING ARRESTED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT wowWOW WOW. Damn I should be so lucky Well hopefully she doesn't get more greedy and let him be, doest get her next lover to kill the poor dude and get the rest of his money too, I am just saying, she flew into a rage nearly killed him got away with it, maybe she might try again for good thinking to get away with it. Well just be on your guard Tiger, you are not the first man to cheat doesn't matter with how many. I don't support cheating but I understand we are all humans and are all flawed, aren't you?
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