By Alexander Wilson-
Tiger Woods’ attorneys are suing his ex mistress for breaking a sweeping $8million (£5.7m) nondisclosure agreement (NDA) she signed after it was claimed she had an affair with the then-married golfer in 2009.
After Uchitel’s affair with Woods broke, she signed the agreement of over 30 pages – brokered by high-profile Hollywood lawyer Gloria Allred, having negotiated a multi-million-dollar deal that would see her paid $5million (£3.6m), then $1million (£721k) each year for the following three years, for her silence.
The deal prohibited her from discussing “directly or indirectly, verbally or otherwise”, the golfer’s “lifestyle, proclivities, customs, private conduct, fitness, habits, sexual matters, familial matters,” among other topics, with anyone, “including but not limited to, family members, relatives, acquaintances, friends, associates, co-workers, journalists.”
It also prohibited her from telling anyone that she had signed an NDA. In return for her silence, Uchitel got $5 million and a promise of $1 million a year for the three years that followed, a deal brokered by her then-attorney, Gloria Allred.
The NDA was detailed in its stipulations. It specified that she was not permitted to discuss ‘directly or indirectly, verbally, or otherwise’ with anything ‘including but not limited to, family members, relatives, acquaintances, friends, associates, co-workers, journalists’ topics including Woods’ ‘lifestyle, proclivities, customs, private conduct, fitness, habits, sexual matters, familial matters’.
Uchitel was also prohibited from saying she had signed an NDA in the first place.
Rachel Uchitel Image:Newyork times
However, Uchitel broke the deal by discussing her relationship with the golfer for the first time, citing ”extreme bullying” as her perception of how he felt she was being treated. Woods’ attorney Michael Holtz sued her on behalf of his client.
Uchitel claimed that she only pocketed $2 million of the original $5 million following taxes and lawyer fees.
When it became time for the additional payouts, Uchitel said Woods’ team did not keep their part of the agreement, and saw she began to see the NDA as ”extreme bullying”.
She believes the non payments were because she appeared on “Celebrity Rehab” to address her supposed issues with male attention, the newspaper reported.
She claimed she was called into arbitration by Woods’ legal team, who allegedly demanded their $5 million settlement back from her.
Uchitel says her relationship with Woods is still impacting her finances, career, mental health and love life. She decided to speak out after producers approached her to appear in HBO’s documentary, “Tiger,” in 2019.
“I’ve had it with NDAs,” Uchitel said.
“Ten years later, people were still talking about me as a player in a story I had never talked about. I felt like it was time to take the reins,” she added.
Bankruptcy
Former nightclub manager Uchitel, who detailed her financial and personal struggles after signing the NDA in the Times piece, successfully filed for bankruptcy after her appearance in the HBO documentary, after spending the approximately $2million (£1.4m) she said she pocketed from the agreement after paying lawyers fees, taxes and other costs.
Holtz is challenging Uchitel’s protection from creditors so that he can bring a claim against her for millions on his client’s behalf for violating the NDA.
She claimed to the publication that Holtz said to her: ‘If you get a job, I’ll come after your wages. If you get married, I’ll go after your joint bank account. I will come after you for the rest of your life.’
Uchitel, said she can only find work related to her ‘tarnished’ reputation (such as a spokesperson gig with ‘sugar daddy’ dating site Seeking Arrangement, which she is currently suing for nonpayment of $60,000 [£43k]) said the lawsuit could put her in a deeper hole than the one she is already in financially.
The outcome of the case will depend on whether she breached the arrangements or not. The legal suit will attract huge public interest, and will examine the nature of the contractual agreements in place.