Tiger Woods is ‘terrified’ of the lawsuit filed against him by ex-girlfriend Erica Herman as he is concerned over the possibility of ‘another scandal,’ according to a report.
Herman is taking Woods to court over an NDA she claims is being wrongfully forced upon her, citing the Speak Out Act, alleging in the bombshell lawsuit that he sexually abused her.
In a separate court filing uncovered by DailyMail.com, Herman is suing Woods for $30 million for ‘severe’ emotional damage, alleging that he tricked her into leaving the Florida mansion where they had lived together for six years.
Woods is now worried about how the legal battle will play out publicly as the golf legend is desperate to avoid another scandal, according to People.
‘It terrifies him,’ an inside source close to the 15-time major winner told the publication.
Tiger Woods is ‘terrified’ of the lawsuit filed against him by ex-girlfriend Erica Herman
Herman is taking the 15-time major winner to court over an NDA she claims she was forced to sign following the couple’s split in October after six years together
The couple were last seen together at the US Open in August 2022
There is said to be ‘a lot of panic’ for Woods with the situation described as a ‘nightmare’ for him as he looks to avoid another public scandal.
Woods’s career was almost derailed by a past cheating scandal with ex-wife Elin Nordegren, who is the mother of his two children – daughter Sam, 15, and son Charlie, 14.
Two days after news of Woods’s affair with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel first broke he hit a tree and a fire hydrant with his SUV.
Uchitel told DailyMail.com this week that she was also made to sign a nondisclosure agreement in the days after their affair was revealed in 2009 and said it ‘ruined my life’ and left her unable to defend herself from public attacks on her character.
After the report of the affair broke, more women then came forward alleging to have had affairs with the golfing star, leading him to take an indefinite leave from golf in an attempt to save his marriage and check into a behavioral rehab center in Mississippi.
Woods ultimately couldn’t save his marriage and he and Nordegren publicly divorced in August 2010.
Herman is said to be aware that the thought of another controversy terrifies Woods as they ‘have talked about it.’
The source added that ‘no one wants the details of a long relationship to be made public.’
The insider claimed that it had become evident to ‘everyone’ around the former couple that the relationship had become ‘toxic.’
Herman is demanding more than $30million for what she claims are ‘breaches of duty’ that left her suffering ‘severe’ emotional damages.
Woods’s career was almost derailed by a past cheating scandal with ex-wife Elin Nordegren
Rachel Uchitel was made to sign an NDA after news of her affair with Woods broke in 2009
Woods and Nordegren publicly divorced in August 2010 (pictured at the 2009 Presidents Cup)
Woods shares two children with Nordegren Sam, 15, and Charlie, 13,(pictured with Woods and Herman after his after the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2022)
Sam, Nordegren and Herman at the 2022 PNC Championship to watch Woods and Charlie play
Woods believes the the amount Herman is asking for in the lawsuit is ‘ridiculous,’ according to the inside source.
They added that the PGA Tour star now has to decide ‘whether it’s worth paying that amount so that this can go away,’ or risk seeing Herman giving a tell-all interview ‘to Dr. Phil.’
In papers filed in October, Herman said she should have been allowed to live in the home in Hobe Sound, Florida, for another five years but Woods used ‘trickery’ after breaking up with her in October.
She claimed that she had an oral agreement with Woods’s trust – the Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust – which is the legal owner of his mansion in Hobe Sound where the two lived together, that allowed her to live at the property for 11 years.
The complaint says that she provided ‘valuable services’ at Woods’s requests as part of the ‘oral tenancy agreement,’ which gave her the right to live at the property for a ‘certain duration of time.’
According to Herman, there were five years left on the oral agreement for her to live at the property when Woods engaged in ‘prohibited practices.’
DailyMail.com can reveal that she filed a separate case against him in October alleging that he kicked her out of his $48m Florida home
Herman sued the Jupiter Island Irrevocable Homestead Trust, which owns the home in Hobe Sound she lived at with Woods for six years while they were together. Hobe Sound, which is on Jupiter Island, has been home to former presidents and A-listers
She claimed she had an oral agreement with Woods’s trust that allowed her to live at the home
Woods and Herman were together for six years but the relationship reportedly became toxic
Herman alleged that former World No. 1 Woods persuaded her to go on a short vacation and when she got to the airport, his representatives told her she had been locked out.
Herman also claimed that Woods’s representatives removed $40,000 of her money and made ‘scurrilous and defamatory allegations’ about how she got the money.
In the separate court filing to void the NDA, Herman made the startling allegation that the 82-time winner on the PGA Tour had sexually abused but went into no detail as to what the alleged abuse entailed, just ticking the ‘yes’ box under the question ‘Does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse?’
In the filing, Herman cited the Speak Out Act, which states that an NDA is not enforceable if agreed to before a dispute involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.
She said that she’s being pressured to keep quiet and adhere to the NDA by Woods’s private trust and claimed that she is ‘currently unsure what other information about her own life she may discuss or with whom.’
Woods recently filed a motion to compel arbitration and stay the claims.
In the document his lawyers said that after Woods ended the relationship Herman was told she ‘was no longer welcome’ in the property, where the golfer lives with his two children.
Woods and Herman were together for six years after being first spotted at the Presidents Cup in New Jersey in October 2017.
Herman goes into no detail as to what the alleged abuse entailed, just ticking the ‘yes’ box under the question ‘Does this case involve allegations of sexual abuse?’
The couple were first spotted at the Presidents Cup in New Jersey in October 2017
She had worked as general manager at the restaurant – a pop-up at the Genesis Open at The Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California where Woods recently made his return to competitive golf for the first time since the British Open last July – owned by her boyfriend.
Once they started dating the two became inseparable, with Herman regularly supporting him at golf tournaments.
Rumors first began swirling about them after Erica was seen wearing a ‘player spouse’ badge, usually given to wives and girlfriends.
The following month, they went public about their relationship.
Woods’s lawyers state that he broke things off on October 13, 2022 and that Herman ‘responded to the breakup by filing this lawsuit.’
They added that her claiming she wants to live in the property is ‘directly adverse’ to the interests of Woods and his children.
The document filed by Woods’s lawyers noted that the pair never married and that when Herman was living in the Florida home she was a ‘guest’ of the golfer.