Woods' ex-wife says she went 'through hell'

WINDERMERE, Florida (AP):

Tiger Woods' ex-wife Elin Nordegren said she has "been through hell" since her husband's infidelity surfaced, but she never hit him, according to an interview released yesterday.

Nordegren told People magazine she and Woods tried for months to reconcile the relationship. In the end, a marriage "without trust and love" wasn't good for anyone, she said.

In November, outside their Florida home, Woods drove his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree, setting off shocking revelations that sports' biggest star had been cheating on his wife through multiple affairs. The couple officially divorced on Monday.

Nordegren told People that she never hit Woods on the night of the car crash.

"There was never any violence inside or outside our home," she said. "The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is just truly ridiculous."

Nordegren said Woods left the house that night and when he didn't return after a while, she got worried and went to look for him. She said that's when she found him in the car.

"I did everything I could to get him out of the locked car," she said. "To think anything else is absolutely wrong."

Losing her hair

"I've been through hell," said the Swedish-born Nordegren, who began losing her hair in the days before the divorce became final. "It's hard to think you have this life, and then all of a sudden - was it a lie? You're struggling because it wasn't real. But I survived. It was hard, but it didn't kill me."

Asked about his ex-wife's interview, Woods said yesterday, "I wish her the best in everything.

"You know, it's a sad time in our lives," he said from The Barclays golf tournament in New Jersey. "And we're looking forward in our lives and how we can help our kids the best way we possibly can. And that's the important thing."

Therapy

While Nordegren said she has watched little TV in the last nine months, she sometimes followed the scandal on the Internet. Friends also kept her informed.

Nordegren credits therapy for helping her deal with her emotions and kept a journal.

"I haven't gone back to read what I wrote in December and January; I'm afraid to," she said.

In an interview on NBC's 'Today' show yesterday morning, People magazine reporter Sandra Sobieraj Westfall said Nordegren and her team approached the publication.

Westfall said Nordegren wanted people to know three things: she's not violent and never hit Woods; she had no idea this was going on; and it was a real marriage for her.

Claudia DiRomualdo, the magazine's public-relations director, said no one received payment for the story.