"You see why I didn't get married?" - When Derek Jeter refused to get sucked by media into Tiger Woods controversy
In 2009, Derek Jeter found himself facing relentless questions from the media. It was not for anything that he had done on the baseball field, it was for his connection to Tiger Woods' marital affair.
News broke that Woods has been cheating with his wife, Elin Nordegren, which quickly became a trending topic. Woods had multiple affairs with multiple women, but one stood out, and that was Rachel Uchitel.
Jeter introduced Uchitel and Woods the year prior. Jeter then became the scapegoat for a story that did not have much to do with him.
"Man, they're trying to bring me into this thing with Tiger, and I've got nothing to do with it. You see why I didn't get married?" said Jeter (as quoted by Essentially Sports).
Jeter wanted to distance himself as much as he could from the situation, and for good reason. Tiger Woods' affairs would become one of the biggest stories that year. Media would go on to do some digging and compile a long list of people Woods allegedly cheated on his wife with over the years.
This ended up affecting Woods' career. He lost tons of sponsorships and money, and his legacy took a big hit.
Years after the Tiger Woods saga, Derek Jeter did get married
Derek Jeter spent most of his Yankees' career without a wife. He was focused on winning and after everything he went through with Tiger Woods, it was not his biggest priority.
However, that would change after he met Hannah, who he is now married to. The two met in 2012 at a restaurant through a mutual friend. Hilariously, Hannah first thought Jeter was a pitcher.
Hannah was intrigued by Jeter and wanted to get to know him better. The two hit it off during the offseason and Hannah was beginning to understand who he was as a person and an athlete.
The two would become very close. They tied the knot in July of 2016. It would not be long after that that the couple would bring their first child into the world.
In 2017, the couple had their first child, Bella, but that would not be their only child. In 2019, Story was born and in 2021 River was born. The Jeter family also welcomed their first boy, Laius to the world in 2023.