Seeking both financial compensation and release from a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), Erica Herman has filed two lawsuits against her ex-boyfriend Tiger Woods and the legendary golfer’s company, following their split last fall.

Tiger Woods has been dating Herman, 38, since 2017. The 2018 Masters marked a major turning point in their relationship.

That was when 10.8 million TV viewers watched in awe as the disgraced sports legend embraced Herman as he won his first major in more than a decade. Before his triumphant moment at Augusta National, Woods had undergone four back surgeries. Herman was credited with being there to help Woods return to the top.

Unexpected lawsuit

Some newspapers revealed that Herman had been in financial trouble for many years, constantly owing bills with her ex-boyfriend, suspecting that she approached Woods to “dig for gold”. But the news gradually fell into oblivion when Woods brought his girlfriend to live in a $50 million villa on Jupiter Island. Herman’s life turned a new page. She often accompanied the golf legend in tournaments, on luxurious vacations with his two 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. The strange thing happened in the first week of December 2022. Herman did not attend the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas with Woods. At the Genesis Invitationa event in February 2023, Herman continued to be absent.

The news that Woods and Herman had broken up was only confirmed when she filed a lawsuit. According to court documents obtained by the press, Herman filed the lawsuit in October 2022 – the time she and Woods broke up. The lawsuit was filed in the 19th Circuit Court of Martin County, Florida, against Jupiter Island, a housing trust controlled by Woods. In the lawsuit, Herman claims that she and Jupiter Island had an “oral lease agreement” that allowed her to stay at Woods’ mansion for 11 years. That is, after they split, she was allowed to stay at the mansion for another five years.

However, she was evicted from the house by “tricks” from the trust’s representatives. Herman alleges that they convinced her to “pack her bags for a short vacation.” But when she arrived at the airport, they told her she was evicted and not allowed to return. Herman alleges that Woods’ representatives “attempted to justify their illegal conduct” by paying for her hotel room and certain expenses for a short period of time, even embezzling $40,000 in cash that belonged to her, and making “slanderous and defamatory allegations about how she obtained the money.” Herman is suing Jupiter Island for $30 million in damages.

Tiger Woods’ Ex-Girlfriend Sues for $30 Million

NDA Trouble

Jupiter Island – The residential trust, established in 2017, lists Woods and his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren as beneficiaries, and Woods’ Jupiter Island home as the trust’s sole asset. Jupiter Island has disputed Herman’s claims.

“Herman alleges that she negotiated an oral lease with one of the trust’s representatives. In fact, Ms. Herman was invited to live at the property while she was in a relationship with her boyfriend, Tiger Woods. After Mr. Woods ended the relationship, Ms. Herman was told she was no longer welcome at the residence.” The trust asserts that Herman was only a guest at the property, and that there was no oral lease agreement as she claims.

At the same time, the foundation accused Herman of deliberately circumventing the NDA, suing the foundation instead of Woods himself, but in fact all aimed at the legendary golfer’s money.

In response to the response of the foundation named for Woods, Herman responded. Earlier this week, she filed a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend, asking to be released from the NDA she signed when they first started dating in 2017. In essence, an NDA is a contract between two people, a reciprocal agreement in which both parties agree to maintain confidentiality in exchange for certain benefits – which can include everything from living arrangements to employment arrangements. It is not uncommon for someone of Woods’ stature to require all individuals in his orbit to sign an NDA.

Herman invoked a new provision – informally known as the Speak Up Act – to seek to get out of the NDA. Passed by Congress in November 2022 and signed into law by President Biden in December, the Act is designed to protect the rights of victims of 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual harassment or assault. In other words, NDAs can be invalidated if a 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual harassment or assault allegation is proven.

The Act defines 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual assault as “nonconsensual 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual conduct or 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual contact” and defines 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual harassment as conduct that meets the standards for harassment “under applicable federal, tribal, or state law.” Herman is using this to get out of her NDA, in order to expose everything that happened during her relationship with Woods over the past six years. “It’s a serious allegation that she’s making,” said Chris Anulewicz, a lawyer with extensive experience in contract law. “She has to have something to back up her claim.” Woods has until March 27 to respond to Herman’s complaint. His ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of personal troubles for Woods, following a 2009 𝓈ℯ𝓍 scandal, a 2010 divorce from ex-wife Elin Nordegren and a crash that seemed to end his career in 2021.