Tiger Woods Allegedly Broke up With Erica Herman by Locking Her out of Their Home
Published March 9 2023, 11:34 a.m. ET
Famed golfer Tiger Woods may be a winner on the golf course, but now, he will have to win in another medium: the courtroom. Newly unveiled documents from a lawsuit against Tiger by ex-girlfriend Erica Herman reveal the messy nature of their relationship following their late 2022 breakup.
What happened during Tiger Woods and Erica Herman's breakup? And why is she suing him, exactly? Read on for everything you need to know about their split and subsequent upcoming court battles.
Tiger Woods and Erica Herman reportedly broke up in 2022.
According to The New York Post, restauranteur Erica Herman reportedly met Tiger Woods in 2015, working in a bar and studying at the University of Central Florida. Shortly after, she was asked to run Tiger's restaurant in Jupiter, Fla., which opened the same year.
Following Tiger's split with ex-flame Kristin Smith in 2017, he and Erica made their relationship public in September with an outing in Jersey City.
Erica has been by Tiger's side since 2017, especially following his horrific car accident in 2021. Erica attended many of Tiger's golf competitions but has not been spotted with him since they attended the U.S. Open tennis tournament in August 2022. However, the pair reportedly remained together until a quiet breakup in October 2022 — or at least quiet until now.
Erica Herman has filed two separate but entwined lawsuits against Tiger Woods.
According to court documents obtained by USA Today Sports, Erica Herman has filed two separate lawsuits against entities representing Tiger Woods. The first suit was filed in October 2022 against his homestead trust in Hobe Sound, Fla., which was created by Tiger in 2017 for himself and his children.
Erica alleges that following their breakup in October 2022, he "tricked" her into leaving their shared mansion under the guise of a vacation, only to lock her out when she arrived at the airport.
Erica is claiming damages of "more than $30 million" and said the trust and its agents "misappropriated $40,000 cash that belonged to her." She also claims the trust made "scurrilous and defamatory allegations how she obtained the money." In the lawsuit, Erica claimed to have an "oral tenancy agreement" to remain in their home for five additional years after residing in the home for six.
The second lawsuit, which Erica filed in March 2023, asks the court to nullify her 2017 non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which she signed when her relationship with Tiger began. Erica argues that the NDA "is not judicially enforceable in this case under the federal Speak Out Act," according to Golf Digest.
The Speak Out Act prevents enforcing NDAs in the event of sexual assault and harassment. Erica has not made any specific allegations against Tiger, but that could potentially change with the dissolution of her NDA.
The court documents obtained by USA Today Sports read, "Because of the aggressive use of the Woods NDA against her by the Defendant and the trust under his control, the Plaintiff is unsure whether she may disclose, among other things, facts giving rise to various legal claims she believes she has. She is also currently unsure what other information about her own life she may discuss or with whom."
Tiger's team made a motion to dismiss Erica's first lawsuit in November 2022, saying her claims weren't valid because she wasn't a "tenant" of the home as outlined in the "Residential Landlord Tenant Act," according to ESPN. His representatives have not yet commented on her second lawsuit.