There are two images of Tyna Robertson.
The devoted, churchgoing mother.
And the conniving extorter of wealthy, gullible men, according to court papers.
A stunning ex-stripper from Joliet, Robertson insists she's not a gold digger -- only a struggling, misunderstood woman faced with raising her infant son on her own.
A Chicago Sun-Times review of hundreds of pages of court documents, however, paints a different tale of Tyna. [img_r]http://glennsacks.com/blog-files/images/tynarobertson.jpg[/img_r]
Robertson is dogged by years of allegations that she shakes men down for money.
She has had a long list of boyfriends, including boxer Andrew Golata, "Lord of the Dance" star Michael Flatley, several professional ballplayers, even a cabinetmaker and a physical therapist. She speaks Spanish and Polish.
Flatley is suing her and an attorney for $100 million for allegedly making a false allegation that Flatley raped Robertson in Las Vegas. Robertson insists she was raped and wasn't involved in any extortion. Her $35 million lawsuit against Flatley was tossed out of court.
These days, she's best known as the mother of Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher's 17-month-old boy, Kennedy.
Robertson says Urlacher never wanted to have the child. In fact, she told the Sun-Times that she turned down a six-figure offer to have an abortion when she was two months pregnant.
"That's why gold digger doesn't add up. If I just wanted money, I could have aborted the baby," she said.
Her powerhouse family-law attorney, Steve Lake, said: "I don't see her as someone who had a baby to extort money."
Robertson claims that the abortion allegation prompted a settlement in their bitter custody fight.
"They didn't really want anyone to know about that," she said.
Bears officials said Urlacher told them there is "absolutely no truth to it."
'I must be easy on the eyes'
Urlacher's attorney Donald Schiller denied the allegation, saying, "When weighing the truthfulness of her quotes, just look at the source."
Robertson grew up in working-class Joliet, a far cry from the lure of luxury along Rush Street, where she's well-known.
"I must be easy on the eyes," she says, explaining why famous men have courted her. "A lot of professional athletes ask me out, and I've turned them down."
For years, Robertson has had a taste for the good life while struggling financially.
She filed for bankruptcy in 1998, listing a 1998 Corvette valued at $35,000 as a top asset.
The year before, she made $12,000. She listed her occupation as "Sales/Entertainer" but was unemployed then.
She owed thousands of dollars to high-end department stores, including Neiman Marcus, and thousands more to casinos. She admits battling a gambling problem.
"Obviously, I'm not a good gambler," she said.
In a recent court affidavit, Robertson reported similar money woes. She reported about $12,270 a month in expenses -- including $3,000 for a nanny, $2,000 in clothes, $600 for clubs and entertaining, $1,300 for vacations and $500 in children's entertainment. She makes $500 a month.
In the past, to make money, Robertson worked as an exotic dancer at Thee Doll House in Stone Park.
"I'm not proud of it. I wasn't even a good dancer," she said.
The late, renowned private investigator Ernie Rizzo said in an interview before he died that Robertson graduated from stripper to parasite of the rich and famous. Rizzo had investigated Robertson extensively for a client he declined to name.
Robertson disputes Rizzo's conclusion, saying, "It's not in my heart to take advantage of anyone."
Robertson often finds herself in courthouses, whether she's suing someone or getting sued. She's had tiffs with her hairdresser, business partners and even the men she paid to paint her Dodge Viper.
A married west suburban millionaire clashed with Robertson in court.
Sued by businessman
Robertson told the Sun-Times she and the man were just business partners. But another source familiar with the matter said the two were romantically linked.
At first, records show, they appeared to be getting along, buying a Mitsubishi and a house together in west suburban Naperville in 1999.
Soon, the relationship soured.
The businessman sued Robertson in 2001 for $463,149 that she charged on a corporate credit card he had given her, records show. Most of it was gambling debt.
The businessman also got an order of protection against Robertson, ordering her away from his family and business.
The matter was settled out of court, with the businessman eating much of the charges, a source said.
Dancer countersues
Robertson got her first taste of national exposure when she alleged in 2003 that star Irish dancer Michael Flatley raped her in a Las Vegas hotel the year before. Flatley said the sex was consensual.
That lawsuit was tossed out, and Flatley countersued her and the lawyer representing her for $100 million for civil extortion and defamation. The lawsuit is pending. Robertson said she had nothing to do with any extortion alleged in the complaint.
Flatley contends Robertson "had followed a pattern and practice of extorting money and other financial benefits from men."
Flatley suggests Robertson was lining up witnesses even before they went to bed.
The two ate dinner at Lutece Restaurant, where Robertson ordered chocolate cake to come before her dinner and later made a fuss -- all to make sure the waiter remembered her and who she was dining with, Flatley alleges.
Robertson later noted the name of the hotel employee who showed her to Flatley's suite, Flatley alleges.
'Mr. Suave, he's not'
As for Urlacher, Robertson met him at a Chicago nightclub, where they hit it off and talked all night long.
"He was nervous and shy and everything. Mr. Suave he's not," she said.
They dated for a bit, but Robertson had her eye on someone else.
"I told Brian to kick rocks," she said. "Then I found out I was pregnant."
Robertson said when she broke the news to Urlacher, he asked her to have an abortion. When she refused, Urlacher asked her to move out of state, according to a court filing that includes a series of text messages that Urlacher -- who has two daughters -- allegedly sent to Robertson.
One message allegedly sent on Nov. 10, 2004, reads: "UR right I don't want anymore kids and its 2 bad U want 2 bring a child into this situation when it could B avoided," court records show.
Their son was born May 20, 2005, but Urlacher did not meet him until July 22 and only spent 15 minutes with the boy on that day, according to court documents.
But in September 2005, Urlacher sought to establish paternity and seek full custody of the boy, whom he proudly included in his Bears media guide biography. Through a Bears spokesman, Urlacher declined a request for an interview.
Despite the venomous court battle between them, Robertson says she still has a soft spot for Urlacher.
They flirted a bit and "played footsies under the table" during a sit-down with their child custody attorneys, she said.
She said she wants to make sure Kennedy has a good life and is putting her trust in God.
Her son "is like Bamm-Bamm from the Flintstones. If he picks up the couch some day it will not surprise me," she said. "He definitely is Brian's son."
"If it wasn't for God, I never would have made it through this. I go to church six to seven times a week for morning prayer. That's why I'm not angry at Brian," she said.
Robertson says she's not sure if they'll ever get back together. Still, she was interested in whether Urlacher was with an old flame, Paris Hilton, when Hilton was in town a few days ago.
In a text message to a reporter at 11:35 p.m. Thursday, Robertson asked, "Paris Hilton is in town are they together?"