Tiger Woods’ ex says journalists approaching her about his DUI is causing fear for her family’s safety, and her explanation is quietly devastating

Kristin Smith, former girlfriend of Tiger Woods, posted a lengthy statement to her Instagram Story following Woods’ latest DUI arrest, describing being pulled back into her past as deeply unsettling. Her message details the anxiety that renewed media attention has placed on her and her family, as reported by UNILAD.

Smith, who dated Woods in 2016, said journalists had approached her for comment in the wake of his recent troubles. She stated she has “moved forward,” and being pulled back into those moments alongside “untrue narratives” is “triggering.” She added that following unspecified traumatic incidents in recent years, she does not handle being “unexpectedly approached or confronted well,” describing it as “deeply unsettling.”

The stylist expressed significant anxiety over the possibility of being contacted, watched, or followed by people hoping to provoke a reaction about something she says has not involved her for a long time. She asked that she and her family be “treated with dignity and privacy now and as this process plays out.”

The arrest itself is not his first

On March 27, Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI after his Range Rover rolled over near his home in Jupiter Island, Florida, following a collision with a pickup truck. Officers at the scene believed he had alcohol in his system, and Woods reportedly refused to provide a urine sample before being taken into custody. He has since been released on bail, amid a former Woods employee also speaking out about the golfer’s behavior and the DUI.

This is not Woods’ first driving-related arrest. In May 2017, officers found him asleep at the wheel of his parked Mercedes-Benz in Florida, with multiple prescription drugs including Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien, and THC in his system. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year of probation. The 2026 arrest is the latest in a series of driving controversies that have followed the 50-year-old throughout his career, with law enforcement responses to sports figures drawing renewed scrutiny across other recent incidents as well.

In her statement, Smith said she has “taken the time to process my personal experiences and am grateful for moments that have shaped me.” She appealed for empathy toward Woods, asking people to remember that he is “above all, a human being, and deserving of decency too, just like anyone else.”

She closed by noting she had chosen silence for nearly ten years and that breaking it was not always easy. “Finally, not abandoning myself feels cathartic. Moving on,” she wrote.

Woods’ current girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, has not publicly commented on the arrest. Woods himself has also not addressed the incident publicly.