Inside Tiger Woods and Longtime Girlfriend Erica Herman’s Alleged Split: Breakup, NDA, More

Tiger Woods is one of the most successful golfers in the history of the sport, but he often makes headlines for what happens off the course – including his relationship with longtime partner, Erica Herman, who is taking him to court over an NDA. Keep scrolling to find out everything to know about the couple’s split, details about the NDA in question and more. 

When Did Tiger Woods and Erica Herman Start Dating?

Tiger and Erica first went public with their relationship at the Presidents Cup in Jersey City, New Jersey, in September 2017. Throughout their romance, the Florida native was a regular on the course while Tiger competed.

In April 2022, Erica couldn’t stop gushing about Tiger’s return to the Masters Tour after his single-car accident in February 2021, which severely injured both of his legs and resulted in multiple surgeries for the golf champ. 

“I mean, nothing ever surprises me about him,” Erica told Golf.com at the time. “But he’d just worked so hard to be here, that was the one thing I knew: once he got here, he wasn’t going to go home.”

When Did Tiger Woods and Erica Herman Split?

Though neither the golf legend nor Erica have commented on when they ended their relationship, the pair have not been publicly seen together since August 2022, when they were photographed attending the U.S. Open held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York. 

However, in a December 2022 complaint obtained by In Touch, it was alleged that Tiger “informed” Erica he was breaking off their relationship in October that same year.

Why Is Erica Herman Taking Tiger Woods to Court?

The former restaurant manager is taking the PGA Tour champion to court to nullify an NDA Tiger made her sign in August 2017, according to a complaint filed in Martin County, Florida, on March 6, 2023, and obtained by In Touch. 

In the complaint, Erica claims that the NDA should not be enforced because of the Speak Out Act, which allows for exemptions to made when there is evidence of sexual assault or harassment. It is unclear if Erica is accusing the father of two of anything in particular; however, she is asking the court for clarity regarding the circumstances surrounding the NDA and whether the legal document is still enforceable amid their alleged split. 

If the NDA is “valid and enforceable in any part,” Erica is asking the court to define the limitations on the freedom to disclose “her own experiences, the experience of her family members, photographs and recordings of herself and her family members, information held, witnessed or learned by people who are not covered by the Woods NDA” and more. 

However, in May 2023, a Florida judge rejected Herman’s attempt to nullify the non-disclosure agreement. 

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger ruled on May 17 that “Herman has not pursued any claims for sexual assault or sexual harassment against Defendant; she has solely pursued a declaratory judgment action and has only made vague and threadbare references to behaviors or actions she contends constitute sexual harassment.”

“Herman has had the opportunity [to] provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, she has not done so,” Judge Metzger continued.

Why Is Erica Herman Suing Tiger Woods for $30 million?

In addition to the complaint she filed in March 2023, Erica previously filed another complaint in October 2022 against a homestead trust that Tiger controls for a violation of the Florida Residential Landlord Tenant Act, according to documents obtained and viewed by In Touch. 

In the complaint, Erica alleges that she and the athlete had been living together in his Hobe Sound, Florida, home for the duration of their relationship, claiming that she performed “valuable services” for Tiger in order to live there rent-free, citing an “oral tenancy agreement” to remain at the house for five more years. 

The docs also allege that Tiger’s “agents” convinced Erica to “pack a suitcase for a short vacation” without the golf pro, and “when they arrived at the airport, they told her she had been locked out of her residence, in violation of the oral tenancy agreement and in violation of Florida law.” 

Furthermore, the complaint alleges that Erica was informed she could not return to the residence, her belongings had been removed and that Tiger’s agents “misappropriated” $40,000 in cash that belonged to her, making “scurrilous and defamatory allegations how she obtained the money.”

She is now claiming damages of more than $30 million, per the complaint. 

In response to Erica’s October 2022 filing, the Trust asked for the dispute to be settled in private rather than let it play out in public court, claiming that the NDA between the former couple requires “any and all disputes, claims or controversies … of any kind or nature whatsoever” between the former couple to be “resolved by confidential binding arbitration” before the American Arbitration Association (AAA). 

By suing the Trust rather than Tiger, it is alleged that Erica is seeking to evade her obligation to adjudicate her claims in a confidential manner, instead seeking to “gain leverage by litigating her disputes” with her ex in a “public forum.”

Herman later claimed, in court documents filed in May 2023, that she was forced to sign the non-disclosure agreement if she wanted to keep her job as manager of Tiger’s Jupiter, Florida, restaurant. 

“Mr. Woods was Ms. Herman’s boss. … A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment,” according to the documents. 

However, the judge ruled that there is insufficient evidence to prove an agreement between Herman and Woods was made at the start of their relationship, adding that the exes must resolve their issues through mediation.

In July 2023, nine months after she filed her lawsuit, Herman dropped her legal battle against the golf pro, In Touch can confirm.

“The Plaintiff, Erica Herman, by and through her undersigned counsel, hereby dismisses without prejudice her Complaint, filed on October 26, 2022, pending resolution of the appeal in Herman v. Woods and determination of whether her claims are subject to arbitration,” the court documents, which were viewed by In Touch, read.