Tiger Woods Affair with Rachel Uchitel: Is the National Enquirer Just Making Stuff Up?

The Tiger Woods accident and its possible ultimate causes seem to have only added fuel to the raging fire that is the rumors and allegations that Tiger Woods is having affair with Rachel Uchitel, a well-known New York socialite. That the alleged altercation between Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, was over his possible affair with Rachel Uchitel, who was "outed" by the National Enquirer as having an affair with the famous golfer, only seems to lend credence to the rumors and insinuations. But is the National Enquirer story accurate or could they be simply taking advantage of circumstances to sell a few copies of their tabloid?

The National Enquirer uses as the chief source for their allegations that Tiger Woods is cheating his wife a friend of Rachel Uchitel's, Ashley Samson. Simpson insists that Rachel Uchitel has told her that she is in love with Tiger Woods and that Woods is constantly sexting her. She said that Uchitel told her, "'I'm having an affair with Tiger Woods. We're in love!'"

The National Enquirer also claims to have another source (that passed a polygraph test, they offer) that corroborates the sexting story. They maintain that Rachel Uchitel gave Tiger Woods her number in June and the text traffic between the two is enormous.

Rachel Uchitel maintains that she has never texted Tiger Woods. She admitted that she knew him, had met him in May. She even admits to having seen him on a couple of other occasions. She has been publicly quoted on the topic of the alleged affair: "Bulls---!"

The National Enquirer said one of their reporters puts Rachel Uchitel in the same hotel in Melbourne in mid-November while Tiger Woods was there for the Australian Masters. The tabloid claims that Uchitel at first denied being in the hotel. They also said that she told them she went to Australia with a boyfriend, then later recanted the boyfriend story, supplanting it with a story that she was in Melbourne "for business."

The strange story surrounding Tiger Woods' car accident outside his home in Windermere, Florida, early Friday morning, that the accident was preceded by an altercation between Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, over stories of an affair, have increased the attention paid both the National Enquirer's story and Rachel Uchitel.

TMZ reported Saturday that Rachel Uchitel hired Gloria Allred, famed celebrity lawyer, to represent her. There is talk of a defamation lawsuit against the National Enquirer.

But would the National Enquirer fabricate all those details and enlist spurious "sources" to sell more copies of their tabloid? Would they risk a million-dollar lawsuit (they're always at least a million dollars) just to make a few extra dollars on a story they couldn't substantiate? No doubt about it. They stand to make millions from increased copy sales and advertising as well. Writing ambiguous insinuations and innuendo has been their stock in trade for decades and the occasional successful libel lawsuit is simply part of the operational costs of doing business. Raking in millions off of a popular story often offsets whatever amount they may be forced to settle for or be ordered by a judge to pay.

Although the National Enquirer is often regarded as a salacious gossip rag, having lost a few lawsuits over the years by publishing stories that later appeared to be libelous (that Carol Burnett was drunk and Cameron Diaz was involved in an affair, both of which were cases the paper lost), the National Enquirer has been fairly effective over the years at collecting dirt on high-profile individuals.

The National Enquirer was the first publication to allege that former North Carolina senator and 2004 Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards was involved in an affair. The tabloid went so far as to insinuate that Rielle Hunter's baby was the "love child" of John Edwards extramarital attentions. Months later and only after John Edwards had withdrawn as a contender from the 2008 presidential race did the National Enquirerfind convincing evidence (reporters cornered Edwards in a Beverly Hills hotel in which Rielle Hunter and her child were staying) that John Edwards was indeed having an affair and publish articles that led to John Edwards' admission that he had had an affair. It was only then that the mainstream media and the "official" press ran with the story as well.

Does Rachel Uchitel's hiring a lawyer mean that the National Enquirer will stop running stories of the alleged affair?

No.

But does it mean that Rachel Uchitel is having an affair with Tiger Woods?

No.

Does it mean that Tiger Woods, who has been married since 2004 and has two children, is not having an affair with Rachel Uchitel?

No.

But does all this circumstantial evidence, insinuations, allegations, and plausible possibilities mean that the public will continue to follow this story, whether or not it reaches a sordid or an innocent end?

Oh, yeah...

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Sources:

NationalEnquirer.com
TMZ.com