Will The Marriage Survive? What Happens To Tiger?
Since I have counseled a lot of golfers and their family members, I thought I ought to share a few of my thoughts as to what will happen to Tiger Woods’ relationship. Unfortunately, I do not think his marriage will survive. I have seen many relationships survive affairs. In fact, some marriages can get stronger after a couple moves past the infidelity. But in this case, I do not see that happening.
It appears that Tiger Woods was having multiple affairs beginning early on in his relationship. His wife is probably devastated and furious. It is significantly harder for a relationship to heal from these multiple transgressions and numerous lies than it is to recover from a singular affair.
In addition, the couple does not appear to have a period of time where they were honest, candid and solid with one another. A couple who has been together for ten years and has issues in year nine is different than a couple that has been experiencing infidelity from the beginning of the marriage.
To make matters worse, there appears to have been a physical altercation between Tiger and his wife. And drugs and alcohol may be intertwined with the couple’s conflicts. This further exacerbates the couple’s problems. If the media reports are true, the couple may not be living together and Mrs. Woods has already purchased a home in her native Sweden. Getting away from the scandal and her spouse and closer to her twin sister, her native country, and her family has to look pretty appealing to this young lady.
So, in my view, unfortunately, I don’t think this marriage can be salvaged. As far as Tiger goes, he will stay away from the media until his injuries heal and will wait for all the mistresses to surface. Then he will probably have one news conference where he apologizes for his behavior, clears the air and gets all this behind him. The fans at the first few tournaments may be a little unkind and rude to him, but this will pass in a few months. The public will forgive him shortly, as they should, and he will go on to win some more majors. The golf course will prove to be his emotional sanctuary.
This article was written by Jay P. Granat, Ph.D., a Psychotherapist and Marriage and Family Counselor in River Edge, New Jersey. He is the founder of www.StayInTheZone.com and www.DrJayGranat.com.
