Tiger Woods and longtime girlfriend Erica Herman appear to have split up — and a legal battle could ensue.
Us Weekly and TMZ reported on Wednesday that Herman wants a court to void a non-disclosure agreement that Woods required her to sign when they became a couple in 2017. In her court filing, a copy of which both outlets obtained, Herman said the Speak Out Act gives her the right to talk.
Under the Speak Out Act, which US President Joe Biden signed into law in December, non-disclosure and non-disparagement documents are not enforceable when sexual assault and/or sexual harassment comes after such agreements are entered into.
“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,” Herman’s court filing read, as quoted by Us Weekly.
“She is also currently unsure what other information about her own life she may discuss or with whom. There is, therefore, an active dispute between the Plaintiff and the Defendant for which the Plaintiff needs a clarifying declaration from the court.”
Neither Woods nor Herman have commented on the status of their relationship. She was on hand at the 2022 Masters when he returned to golf following his recovery from serious leg injuries sustained in a car crash the previous year, but Us Weekly said Herman hasn’t been seen publicly with Woods recently.
Woods has been divorced from Elin Nordegren, with whom he has two children, since 2010.
Their split came after a series of events that started when Woods crashed his SUV into a tree near their Florida home in late November 2009. The incident reportedly occurred after Nordegren learned Woods was having an extramarital affair, and other women subsequently came forward to disclose their relationships with the married golfer.
He went on to undergo therapy for sex addiction.