Elin Nordegren on Tiger Woods: I Was 'Blindsided' By Affairs, She Tells People Magazine

Aug. 25, 2010— -- Elin Nordegren said she wanted to save her marriage to Tiger Woods even after she was "blindsided" by his multiple affairs, but in the end the damage was irreparable and she didn't trust him.

"I've been through hell," Nordegren, whose divorce was finalized Monday, told People magazine in the issue to hit newsstands Friday.

Nordegren revealed that she had no clue about her golfing superstar husband's infidelities, saying she was "blindsided" and "embarrassed" by the affairs.

At a press conference today preceding a golf tournament in New Jersey, Woods called the divorce a "sad time."

"You know, it's a sad time in our lives," he said. "And we're looking forward in our lives and how we can help our kids the best way we possibly can. And that's the important thing."

"I never suspected, not a one," she said in the exclusive interview. "For the last three-and-a-half years, when all this was going on, I was home a lot more with pregnancies, then the children and my school."

And even though she tried to shield her two young children as much as possible, daughter Sam, 3, picked up on her grief, asking, "Mommy, where is your boo-boo?"

While she has withheld some details, Nordegren, 30, said she is speaking out now because she wants to set the record straight and also sees opening up as a step toward healing. But she told People she had no intention of addressing the matters again, saying she hoped she and her children could get the privacy they needed to adjust to their new lives.

Despite everything Nordegren said she has no regrets and is gracious toward her ex.

"I wish him all the best in the future, as a person and as an athlete," she said. "I know he is going to go down as the best golfer that ever lived, and rightfully so. I feel privileged to have witnessed a part of his golfing career."

Woods said the divorce had weighed on him this summer, affecting his game and calling it "a lot more difficult than I was letting on."

"Concentration on the golf course," he said, "at times it was difficult."

Woods may have stated the obvious when he said it was not his return to golf that led to divorce.

"Me coming back and playing golf had nothing to do with our deciding to move our separate ways."

When asked if he was relieved to be divorced, Woods said he was more sad than relieved.

"More sadness you don't ever go into a marriage looking to get divorced."

Nordegren's interview with People was conducted in four parts totaling 19 hours, with the Swedish-born Nordegren writing down some of her answers to make sure her English was accurately describing her feelings.

"She's still in a bad place, but getting better," People Magazine Deputy Managing Editor Peter Castro told "Good Morning America." "This is a woman with incredible grace and poise and really a model for how you should repair your life."

Nordegren's seemingly perfect life started to unravel in a public way in November, when Woods crashed his SUV outside the family's Florida home.

In the days that followed, there were reports of an alleged relationship between Woods, 34, and a New York City nightclub hostess. Before long, several other allegations were made about even more women.

And there was the now infamous voicemail, purportedly left by Woods for cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs.

In the message, a panicked voice identified as Woods by US Weekly apparently begs Grubbs to change her voicemail greeting. The voicemail is from Nov. 24, the day before reports of his alleged affairs surfaced, according to US Weekly.

"Hey it's Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor," the caller says in the message. "Can you please, uh, take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. If you can, please take your name off that and, um, what do you call it, just have it as a number on the voice mail. Just have it as your telephone number. You have to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye."