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'I Made A Mistake' Cori Rist Says of Alleged Tiger Woods Affair

Entertainment Tonight, Monday, December 14, 2009, 7:01am (PST)

By ETonline Editorial Team

Cori Rist, the latest woman allegedly connected to Tiger Woods, says she made a mistake when she had an affair with the golf pro, and feels sorry for his wife.

"I'm sorry for her pain. I hate that I'm a part of it," the 31-year-old mother told "Today" show correspondent Natalie Morales on Monday. "I had no idea it would be like this. I can only imagine the pain she's feeling now, and I'm sorry."

She claims she is only telling her story to clear reports that she was paid to be Tiger's lover. "I felt it was necessary to defend myself because I'm hearing negative reports; they're not true," she said on the program. "I'm not an escort, he has not paid me, I'm a mother. At the end of the day, I made a mistake, but I'm not what they're claiming that I am. So I will defend myself because I have no other choice."

She also says she was given the impression their marriage was on the rocks. "I understood that things were very difficult at home, not what we thought they were on TV," she added. "He said, ‘We're on the outs,' but she was pregnant, and they had to get through that."

Later, she says she wanted to cut ties with Tiger. "We were pretty much involved in a relationship, and then I decided that I didn't want to be part of it anymore, and I broke things off with him six months later after I met him," Rist said. "He kept pursuing me for the next two and a half years, and we saw each other, but less often."

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