Golfing hero Tiger Woods on Sunday confirmed his relationship with Vanessa Trump, the former daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump, by declaring that “love is in the air.”
Woods posted a picture of him alongside Trump to his Instagram and X accounts, with the caption: “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.”
Vanessa Trump was married to Donald Trump Jr. from 2005 to 2018, and the couple has five children together.
One of those children, Kai, goes to the same school as Woods’ two children, Sam and Charlie. Kai is due to play golf at the University of Miami in 2026 and competed in an invitational golf tournament against Charlie Woods last week.
The Instagram post from the normally private Woods confirms weeks of rumors and tabloid speculation about the relationship.
The tactic is reminiscent of when the golfer confirmed his relationship with Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn in 2013, saying on social media that he’d gone public to “limit the ‘stalkerazzi’ and all those sleazy websites that are out there following us.” Woods confirmed his breakup with Vonn in 2015.
Woods’ two children are from his marriage to Elin Nordegren, which ended in divorce in 2010 after his extramarital affairs.
President Trump has played golf with Woods on several occasions, most recently in February at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. During his first term, in 2019, Trump also gave Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Woods, a legendary figure in golf and a world-famous sports star, announced earlier this month that he had undergone surgery after rupturing his Achilles tendon, keeping him out of this year’s Masters tournament and likely the rest of the year.
Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company is in talks to produce a biopic on the rise of Woods, according to a Deadline report earlier this month.
Snoop Dogg was among those to comment on Woods’ Instagram post, adding the message “Check ya d m.” It was unclear what the rapper wished to privately tell Woods.
Ivanka Trump also offered her support, commenting on the post: “So happy for you both!”
Patrick Smith
Tiger Woods is asking for privacy since making his relationship with Vanessa Trump Instagram official. But that didn’t stop Ivanka Trump, Vanessa’s former sister-in-law, from sharing her thoughts on the unexpected union.
As the Daily Mail reports, the First Daughter was one of the dozens of people to comment on Woods’ semi-confusing Sunday Instagram post, which both praised his new girlfriend—“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side!”—and asked people to not talk about the relationship (“At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts”).
Related: Tiger Woods Goes Instagram Official With Girlfriend & Fans Are Baffled
Despite the request for privacy, Ivanka didn’t hesitate to make her feelings about the union public with her brief reply: “So happy for you both!” (which was followed by two smiling heart emojis).
Vanessa, a former model and actress, married Donald Trump Jr. at Mar-a-Lago in 2005. The couple, who have five children together, divorced in 2018.
Vanessa is no stranger to high-profile romances. Prior to her relationship with Don Jr., she was briefly linked to Leonardo DiCaprio and dated Saudi prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud between 1998 and 2001. But her love life has been low-key since her split from Don Jr.
Donald and Vanessa’s oldest child, 17-year-old Kai Trump, is a professional golfer as is Tiger’s 16-year-old son Charlie.
CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 19: Ivanka Trump (L) and Vanessa Trump, wife of Donald Trump Jr., attend the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party’s nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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Ivanka, meanwhile, has long expressed her respect and admiration for Vanessa. In a 2016 interview with People, Ivanka described Vanessa as “a machine” (in a good way), adding “She’s Wonder Woman to me.”
While the new couple alert came as a surprise to some, those close to both Woods and Trump have known about their romance for a while.
The two reportedly began dating shortly before Thanksgiving last year and live just a few minutes from each other in Florida, so are able to spend a lot of time together. Their children also attend school together at Palm Beach’s exclusive The Benjamin School, so the families have been close for a while.
“They just love hanging out, having dinner and schmoozing together,” a source told the Daily Mail. “They’re sticking close to home, have decided not to make it a thing and go out in public. Not just yet anyway.”
