Tiger Woods’ serial sexual seduction of cocktail waitresses and party girls during his marriage to stunning Swedish model Elin Nordegren has all the makings of a sex addiction, according to noted expert Dr. Drew Pinsky.
Dr. Drew, as he’s popularly known on his television and radio show, says Woods’ sexual addiction may be related to some early childhood trauma. But so far no evidence has surfaced indicating the world’s No. 1 golfer suffered from that — unless you count being forced to play golf starting at age 3, a trauma.
Pinsky, who has his own show on VHI called “Sex Rehab” discussed the Tiger Woods sex scandal at length on his latest show.
“It’s safe to say that sex addiction might be a part of his problem,” the TV doctor says.
The term “sexual addiction” is used to describe a person who has an unusually intense sex drive or an obsession with sex. Sex and the thought of sex tend to dominate the sex addict’s thinking, making it difficult to work or engage in healthy personal relationships.
Doesn’t sound like Tiger, or maybe he is a functional sex addict. He’s been on the top of his golf game, after coming back from a knee injury last year year.
Like most Americans, Pinsky is a fan of Woods and always admired him as a positive role model. Needless to say, he said he was shocked when the news broke that Woods was having an affair with Hamptons party girl Rachel Uchitel.
“I thought this guy was different,” he said. “Celebrities have a very high probability of having issues in their interpersonal lives and it turns out he may be no different than many celebrities and athletes.”
The doctor believes Tiger and his family are going through a very emotional time.
“Tiger is probably going through guilt and shame; that’s typically what the person who gets caught is going through,” he said.
“They beat themselves up rather badly. The spouse is going through disbelief and trying to come to terms with betrayal, and the life that she thought she was living has been completely altered.”
Wood’s wife confronted him about his alleged affair with Uchitel on Thanksgiving Day and Woods ended up fleeing his own house at 2:25 a.m. only to crash his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant on his neighbor’s lawn. His wife broke out windows in the car, allegedly to free Woods, who was unconscious.
The good news is Pinsky thinks Woods can overcome his problem, personally and professionally.
“It’s amazing how public figures recover from scandals like this,” he says. “Tiger, we all believe is a really good guy, and we’re trying to understand why he could have done this. Hopefully he’ll help us understand this with time. I think he needs to come out with a fuller explanation. People do not like cover-ups.”
In the meantime, “find a way to recommit to your marriage and get some help,” he advised . “Do so with the knowledge that the outcomes can be very, very good.”
I hope Elin reads my reply. Tiger made the most important decision…to get his life and his marriage healthy first. I have lived through the agony of recovery from this problem and it’s toll on the entire family…and it has been almost 10 years since I made bad choices as Tiger did. Craig you are right on and I also hope Tiger embraces this therapy and demonstrates his commitment to Elin and those kids. Everything else will fall back into place in time. We are a forgiving society, especially when someone falls on their sword. Elin has to commit to helping make it work, and that means making Tiger accountable everyday. It’s tough love, but so important to the recovery process. Tiger till rise to that personal challenge….because he now knows the agony of his betrayal to the woman he truly loves. Godspeed Tiger & Elin!
Man – I have no doubt tiger is a sex addict. And trust me, no childhood trauma is necessary. I would bet the farm this started after his father died with a single episode and snowballed over time. The level of denial and irrational thinking to believe you can do this and not get caught is only possible with the insanity of addiction. I wish him luck, and hope he embraces the recovery process – its his only chance at salvaging his family and career.
Drew Pinsky is a really sharp guy, I admire him. People are saying how stupid Tiger is to have done this, but no one goes out and intentionally tries to destroy their family and their career. I think he does have an addiction or some other psychological problem.