Despite the budding relationship between Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods, the Olympic champ said she’s been able to go relatively unnoticed at this week’s U.S. Open just outside Philadelphia.
“I can be normal by myself; no one notices me,” she told the New York Times Friday. “But wherever he’s around, we’re living in a fishbowl. I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. It’s weird. But it’s just something I have to deal with. He has his job, and I have mine. I just have to get used to it.”
She added that things have been going great, was “really happy,” and seemed content to disappear into the throngs of people while following her boyfriend around the course. But Vonn admitted that one thing is bothering her.
“Some people seem to forget that I’m not just Tiger’s girlfriend,” the Vancouver gold medalist explained. “I’m actually a successful athlete. I’m Lindsey. I have my own career and my own life.”
But Vonn says it’s worth it, and went on to argue that, regardless of whether they’re known celebrities or the world’s best athletes in their respective sports, they’re still just a normal, everyday couple.
“Most things are very normal, but something like going out to dinner is next to impossible,” she said. “Unless he wore a wig, I think he’d be recognized.”
Vonn is recovering from an ACL and MCL tear that she suffered at the world championships back in February. She was seen wearing a knee brace when she was following Tiger around Augusta in April, but has since ditched it and claimed she’ll be ready to ski by September. Plenty of time to prepare for Sochi.
“I honestly feel like there will be less pressure on me at these Olympics,” Vonn added. “It helps to have already stood up to that pressure once. The Olympics were the most pressure I’ve ever felt. Tiger lives that kind of pressure every single day. So I can talk to him about that.”
