In 2008, Uchitel met Woods, one of the greatest golfer of all time, in Las Vegas after being introduced by mutual friend, baseball star Derek Jeter.
Woods, 48, was married to Swedish model Elin Nordegren at that time. However, after meeting Uchitel, he began an affair with her, which was exposed in 2009.
Nordegren found out about the affair after Uchitel was photographed checking into Woods' hotel room during the Australian Masters that year.
Later on, the media discovered that Woods was a sex addict and had cheated on his wife with more than 120 women, which became one of the biggest sex scandals of all time.
Rachel Uchitel, one of many of Tiger Woods' mistresses in his 2009 sex scandal. Photo by Instagram/@racheluchitelnyc |
Despite only being one of the many affairs that Woods had, Uchitel still feels like the scandal has continued to haunt her until now.
"When you are in a conversation piece that big that everyone wants to talk about, it's going to go to your grave," Uchitel told Daily Mail. "It affected my relationships, I have a very small world, I keep it that way."
Before meeting Woods, Uchitel had experienced great losses in life. She lost her father Bob to a drug overdose when she was 15. At 26, she lost her fiancé James O’Grady, who was killed in the 9/11 tragedy.
"There is nothing ordinary about me, so I have to date extraordinary men. And I haven't really found that," Uchitel told The Sun. "So, I am open, I want to have a witness to my life. I want to be married. I want to be in a relationship. I'm always hopeful that I will, every morning when I get up. I'm like, I'll meet him today."
Last year, Rachel launched her "Miss Understood" podcast, which she said is an outlet for "misunderstood" people to tell their sides of the story.
After the sex scandal, Woods and Nordegren parted ways in a $100 million divorce. The two share two children, a daughter and a son.
Woods then dated skier Lindsey Vonn between 2013 and 2015, stylist Kristin Smith from 2016 to 2017 and restauranteur Erica Herman until 2022.
At the moment, Woods is competing at the 2024 Masters in Georgia, the U.S., where he has just shoot the worst score of his pro career at 82.