Tiger Woods’ girlfriend Erica Herman has been in the spotlight since the golfing legend won his fifth Masters title in April at the Augusta National, scoring his first major tournament win since the 2008 U.S. Open.
Millions watched with keen interest as Tiger hugged and kissed Erica following his win.
Woods, 43, and Herman, 35, have been dating since 2017. Public attention was drawn to their relationship in the fall of 2017 when they appeared together at the Presidents Cup in New Jersey and were seen engaging in PDA.
Herman was also there to cheer Woods on when he won at the 2018 PGA Tour Championship in September 2018. She congratulating him with a kiss after his victory.
Tiger gets the ole kiss on the lips and a good game before turning in his scorecard…
"Wow. That was fun to watch." pic.twitter.com/VOpWIfbmNW
— Daren Stoltzfus (@DarenStoltzfus) August 12, 2018
Quick. Someone ask Joe Buck who Tiger just kissed.
— Dr. Ted Vickey (@tedvickey) August 12, 2018
America, who is Tiger’s new girl? ?? #PGAChampionship2018 #TigerWoods pic.twitter.com/PEtWFUwRVv
— Dave Young (@daveyoung84) August 12, 2018
Herman is once again in the spotlight following reports that the family of a former employee of Woods’ restaurant and bar in Jupiter, Florida, who was killed in a car crash in December, is suing Woods and Herman. They are saying the couple could have prevented him from getting drunk and dying in a car crash.
Following news of the civil lawsuit, people have been asking who Erica Herman is. If you’ve also been wondering who she is, here is everything you need to know.
Who is Erica Herman?
Erica Herman was born in February 1984, which makes her 35 years old. She is from Riviera Beach, Florida. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Central Florida, Orlando. She has an older brother named Scott Herman.
She was formerly the manager at the Aura Bar and Restaurants in Orlando, Florida, She was also formerly general manager of The Woods Jupiter Restaurant and Bar at Harbourside Place, 29 Soundings Ave, Jupiter, Florida.
She has not worked at The Woods Jupiter since February 2019, according to TMZ.
She currently lives with Woods in his mansion on Jupiter Island, Page Six reports. Since she and Woods went public with their relationship at the Presidents Cup in the fall of 2017, she has been Woods’ constant companion, accompanying him and his children, Sam, 11, and Charlie, 10, on vacations.
Since Tiger and his ex-wife Elin Nordegren divorced in 2010 following a cheating scandal, Woods has dated two other women, the Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn (2012-2015) and Kristin Smith (2015-2017).
The tabloid media was rife with rumors that Herman was involved in the circumstances that led to Tiger’s split with Kristin. According to the rumors, Woods and Kristin split after Kristin discovered that Woods was cheating on her with Herman.
Woods reportedly first met Herman when she was an undergrad student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She was working as a bartender to pay for her college education at the time, and Woods met her when he came to the bar.
They stayed in touch over the years but there was no close relationship between them. However, tabloid gossip claims that Herman chased after Tiger “like a puppy for close to 10 years” until she finally caught him.
Herman got the chance she’d allegedly been waiting for when Woods started his restaurant in 2015 and asked her to be his general manager.
Herman’s financial problems
According to Page Six, court records show that Erica has been plagued with financial problems for years. She was in debt to an investor Tom Morris for more than $240,000 following the failure of a chain of nightclubs she started in 2014 as a joint venture with her ex-boyfriend Jesse Newton and business partner Ricky McIntosh.
A court reportedly ordered Herman to pay Morris $295.60 a week until the debt was paid, and according to the Daily Mail, the weekly installments were being regularly deducted from her weekly pay of $1,589 as general manager at Tiger Woods’ restaurant and bar and were sent to Morris.
That was not the first time that Herman was in financial trouble. A bank sued her in 2012 to repossess a $13,000 BMW she took a loan to buy. She was also evicted from her apartment in March 2014 when she couldn’t pay rent.
Reports about her financial problems have led to accusations that she is a gold digger. But since Woods won his first major tournament in more than a decade the narrative about her appears to have shifted, with some observers now praising her for having a “grounding influence” on Woods.
“She’s been 100 percent supportive, when he was down with his health and all that stuff,” Woods friend Arjun Atwal said, according to Page Six.