Tiger Woods' ex-girlfriend is suing him for $30-million (about R558m).
The 47-year-old golfer's former partner Erica Herman had been living with him in Florida for the duration of their six-year relationship and during that time, the ex-restaurant manager claimed she performed "valuable services" for the sporting legend in lieu of paying rent, though there was only ever an "oral tenancy agreement" between the pair, which she alleged was supposed to last five more years after they split last autumn.
However, according to documents obtained by TMZ, Herman claimed Woods’s staff convinced her to pack for a "short vacation" without the golfer last autumn but after driving her to the airport, she was told she had been "locked out" and wasn't allowed back to the house.
The 38 year old alleged one of Woods’s lawyers met her at the airport with a proposal to resolve any issues between the former couple, and has also claimed she had more than $40 000 in cash confiscated from the house, after accusing her of doing "something shady" to get the money.
Herman has launched the lawsuit against Woods’s trust, the titleholder on the house, and is asking for $30-million which she claimed is the "reasonable rental value" of Woods’s house for the five years she claims remain on their verbal agreement.
In response to the lawsuit, Woods’s trust denied there was ever any oral contract and Herman was simply staying at the property as his girlfriend so was asked to leave after the sportsman - whose two children with ex-wife Elin Nordegren also live at the house - ended their relationship.
News of the lawsuit came shortly after it was revealed Herman had asked the court to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she signed in August 2017, citing the Speak Out Act, which protects victims of sexual assault or harassment.
The paperwork for the filing states the pair "had a long relationship" that was both professional and personal but Herman is "currently unsure what other information about her own life she may discuss or with whom.
She is seeking clarity from the court, who she wants to declare the NDA invalid and unenforceable so she can share her experiences with Woods.