THE FORMER WIFE of world number one golfer Tiger Woods has broken her nine-month silence on their relationship in an interview with People magazine in the US.

Elin Nordegren, 30, was married to Woods for almost six years. The couple, who have two children together, finalised their divorce on Monday.

Nordegren said despite the difficulty of the past months, she now feels stronger than ever:

I have been through the stages of disbelief and shock, to anger and ultimately grief over the loss of the family I so badly wanted for my children.

She said now she feels “stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself.”

Nordegren has moved out of the couple’s home with the two young children, both aged under four.

She said and Woods spent months trying to re-build their relationship, without success.

She also said that she had been completely taken by surprise by her husband’s infidelity. She said it was hard to think “you have this life, and then all of a sudden – was it a lie?”

The former model also clarified the events of the night that resulted in those revelations of infidelity.

There was never any violence inside or outside our home. The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is just truly ridiculous.

Nordegren insists she used the club to pull Woods from his car after realising he was trapped inside.