President Donald Trump attributes the breakdown of his marriage with ex-wife Vanessa to the meeting between Donald Jr. and Russia. Despite this, he approved of his former daughter-in-law’s relationship with Tiger Woods.
Recently, DailyMail.com was the first to report that the golf legend was romantically involved with Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-wife. The couple confirmed their relationship through a social media post on March 23.
Having played golf with the 15-time major champion before attending the Super Bowl in New Orleans last month, the president shared his thoughts on the new high-profile couple in the golf world.
‘I love Tiger and I love Vanessa. They had a great relationship,’ the Commander-in-Chief declared, while speaking to reporters in inside the Oval Office.
Yet, although he appears to have made peace with the tryst, the 78-year-old didn’t appear ready to move on from his son’s broken marriage to the socialite.
Don Jr. and Vanessa divorced in 2018 and, seven years on, Trump was quick to cast blame on his political opponents for the split.
‘I happen to think the relationship with my son was hurt very badly by the witch hunt [about] Russia, Russia, Russia and all the c**p they put Don through,’ Trump continued.
‘Vanessa and Don had a very good relationship. They have five incredible children. All great athletes, all good students. They broke up quite a while ago, which, to me, was very sad because I think they’re both great.’
Woods shared PDA-packed photos of himself with Vanessa in a social media post earlier this month, declaring that ‘love is in the air.’
But before going public with their budding romance, the couple had one particularly important person to break the news to: The president.
And Trump revealed that Woods, who he claimed to have a ‘special relationship’ with, personally informed him.
‘Tiger actually called me a few months ago,’ Trump said, speaking to reporters from the Oval Office Monday.
‘I have a special, very good relationship with Tiger. I played golf with him a couple of times over the past month and he’s a fantastic guy and a fantastic athlete.
‘He told me about it and I said, “Tiger, that’s good.” I’m very happy for both [of them]. Just let both of them be happy.’
Former model and mother of five Vanessa filed for an uncontested divorce from Don Jr. on March 15, 2018 in New York. Since they officially split she has not had a high-profile relationship.
Don Jr. has remained a close adviser to his father and helped take over much of the business.
Woods, 49, and Vanessa, 47, who both live in Florida , have been together since Thanksgiving, DailyMail.com confirmed with four sources.
They live 20 minutes apart in the wealthy southern Florida enclave of Palm Beach and were spotted together at a golf tournament last month.
Vanessa’s eldest daughter Kai, 17, and Woods’ children Charlie, 16, and Sam, 17, all attend $38,595-a-year The Benjamin School together.
Woods and Vanessa were absent from the Junior Invitational, a golf tournament in South Carolina, that both Kai and Charlie played in earlier this month.
Don Jr. was also absent from the contest, despite sources saying he is ‘cool’ with his ex-wife’s new relationship. Woods’s ex-wife Elin Nordegren was also a no-show at the event.
It came after DailyMail.com revealed that Woods called Elin to tell her the news over fears that knowledge of their tryst would leak.
He called the 45-year-old shortly after they started dating, with a source revealing to DailyMail.com that the short and awkward call only lasted a few minutes.
‘Tiger and Elin are supportive of each other’, they said.
‘Her response at first was like “Seriously? A Trump? For real?”,’ the insider says. ‘She was more amused than anything. But she really quickly just accepted it.
‘They’re not the type to give each other their “blessing” per se, but they keep each other in the loop with anyone who is going to spend any amount of time around the kids.’
On March 23, Woods posted the pictures with Vanessa on his Instagram and X accounts. One snap showed them posed in front of a vine-filled wall and another of them cuddling on a hammock.
‘Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together,’ Woods wrote. ‘At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.’
The posts were well-received, garnering hundreds of thousands of likes and comments, including from Vanessa’s former sister-in-law Ivanka Trump and daughter, Kai.
The PGA Tour icon had initially wanted to keep his romance with Vanessa under wraps but was forced to change his plans after news of their budding relationship went public.
‘He knew it would be a huge story when it came out,’ a member of his inner circle told DailyMail.com last week. ‘And he didn’t exactly love it. But obviously Tiger dating a Trump is always going to make headlines, which is exactly what he wanted to avoid.’
As the rumors spread, tongues started wagging.
‘Benjamin is like a small community,’ says the insider, ‘and there’s nothing that rich people like to do more than gossip about each other. Frankly, I’m surprised that it was secret for so long.’
Woods and Vanessa live approximately 20 minutes apart in Palm Beach, Florida and a source revealed that the former model goes to the professional golfer’s house a few nights a week.
‘They just love hanging out, having dinner and schmoozing together,’ the insider said.
Last month, at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines in California , they were pictured arriving together but laid off the PDA in hopes that their relationship wouldn’t be found out.
Kai, who committed to playing golf at the University of Miami next year, wore an outfit from Woods’ clothing line.
In February, Vanessa also took Kai to watch a round of the TGL, the golf league created by Woods and Rory McIlroy.
The golf legend, who hasn’t been in a high-profile relationship for more than two years, has started dating Vanessa amid doubts over his professional future after a series of serious injuries.
On March 11, Woods confirmed that he had undergone yet another surgery, this time to repair a ruptured Achilles, which ruled out a return to The Masters in April.
Vanessa married the President’s oldest son in 2005 and had five children. They divorced 13 years later.
Sources tell DailyMail.com that Vanessa is unworried about his 2009 sex scandal in which he cheated on then-wife Elin Nordegren with a bevy of beauties.
