Elin Speaks

Elin Nordegren spoke to People magazine, opening up for the first time about her split from Tiger Woods. She says she was blindsided by the revelations of Tiger's reported infidelity. INSIDE EDITION has more.

"I survived. It was hard, but it didn't kill me."

They are words of resilience from Tiger Woods's ex-wife! The newly-single Elin Nordegren finally broke her silence about the heartbreaking end of her marriage.    

"I've been through hell," Elin says in the latest issue of People magazine. She says the jaw-dropping revelations of Tiger's cheating took a terrible mental and physical toll on her.

"She suffered insomnia, weight loss, as the divorce became more real she lost some of her hair," People's Sandra Sobieraj Westfall tells INSIDE EDITION.

Elin tells People she was totally blindsided by her husband's rampant infidelity. "I'm so embarrassed that I never suspected, not a one."
 
When asked he she first learned of his betrayal, and what she felt at that moment, Elin said, "[I felt] Absolute shock and disbelief. I felt stupid as more things were revealed. I felt like my whole world had fallen apart."

She also set the record straight about Tiger's Thanksgiving car crash. "The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is just truly ridiculous."

And Elin says she can now find humor in skits like the Kenan Thompson-Blake Lively Saturday Night Live spoof, calling them "pretty hysterical, even if they were totally untrue."

Elin, holding her 18-month-old son Charlie, was bombarded with questions as she stepped out in public for the first time since her divorce was finalized.

"I certainly understand that she is sad, and I feel the same way," said Tiger at a press conference after a rainy practice session in New Jersey. "My actions certainly led us to this decision and I've certainly made a lot of errors in my life and it's something that I'm going to have to live with."

Elin says she didn't give up easily on her marriage. "I thought we had a chance. We tried for months and months," she told People, before deciding she couldn't have a marriage "without trust and love."

When asked if she has or ever will be able to forgive Tiger, Elin said, "I will be honest and tell you I am working on it. I know I will get there eventually."  

"It's a sad time in our lives and we're looking forward to our lives and how we can help our kids the best we possibly can," Tiger told reporters at the press conference.

Tiger and Elin remain on speaking terms and share custody of their two kids. The golf great even dropped off Sam and Charlie while she was being interviewed by a People magazine reporter.

"There wasn't any big kiss between husband and wife, they were discussing [their kids] and it was very routine, not a hint of tension or awkwardness," says Westfall.

Even after all she's been through, the Swedish-born Elin says she has no regrets: "...Not a single one. I have two beautiful children, I am an American, and I feel stronger than I ever have," she told People.

As for that reported $100 million divorce settlement, Elin would only say that "money can't buy happiness or put my family back together." She also says the People interview will be the only time she speaks publicly about the end of her marriage.