Golf Pro Rory McIlroy and Wife Erica Stoll’s Relationship TimelineRory McIlroy and wife Erica Stoll sparked a lasting romance after years of friendship.

The professional golfer first met Stoll in 2012 while he was in a relationship with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. The former couple ended their relationship in 2014 after three years and a short engagement.  

The reason I love it is that we were friends first before anything romantic developed,” McIlroy enthusiastically told the Irish Independent in January 2017, explaining what sets his relationship with Stoll apart.  

He shared, “We first met when she was employed by the PGA of America and staying in a condo in Palm Beach, and I appreciated being with someone leading a regular life rather than someone who would say, ‘Oh! My jet is 30 minutes late.'”    In December 2015, the couple became engaged during a trip to Paris. Their wedding took place in 2017 at a castle in McIlroy’s home country.  

The event was said to be attended by several well-known celebrities, including actor Jamie Dornan from 50 Shades of Grey and musician Chris Martin from Coldplay.    Since getting married, the couple has chosen to keep their relationship private.   Stoll doesn’t share much about herself on social media, as she has set her Instagram account to private. 

The pair are so under-the-radar that McIlroy didn’t announce his wife’s pregnancy until days before she gave birth in August 2020. “We’re about to be parents very soon, so we’re obviously super excited,” he told reporters at the BMW Championship. “Yeah, we’ve been sharing the news with friends and family, obviously, but I didn’t think it was something that I really particularly needed to share [publicly]. … But we’re really excited and can’t wait for [our daughter] to get here.”

McIlroy announced daughter Poppy’s birth via Instagram in September 2020.

Scroll down for a look back at McIlroy and Stoll’s private romance:

2012
The twosome first crossed paths at the Ryder Cup. Still was working as a PGA transport official and helped McIlroy make his tee time after he overslept.James Marsh/BPI/Shutterstock

2014
Following his split from Wozniacki, the athlete sparked a romance with Stoll. ‘I am very happy in my love life. … The past six or seven months have been really nice. That part of my life is going great,’ he gushed to the Times of London in May 2015. Ali Haider/EPA/Shutterstock

December 2015
McIlroy popped the question in Paris. ‘It was a nice trip, a nice way to end the year,’ he told the Independent that month. Dave Shopland/BPI/Shutterstock

January 2017
‘The thing I love about [our relationship] is that we were friends before anything romantic happened,’ McIlroy told the Irish Independent, adding that he feels like he can be his authentic self around Stoll. ‘There was no judgment from day one, which is huge, because that’s very hard to find for someone in my position.’

December 2019
‘2019 was a great year!’ McIlroy captioned a rare social media upload with his wife. ‘Delighted to be starting 2020 and a new decade with our @ashfordcastle family. Can’t wait to see what the next 12 months has in store! Happy New Year everyone!’

August 2020
The U.S. Open champ revealed Stoll’s pregnancy to reporters at the BMW Championship on August 29, gushing that she was due to give birth ‘any day now.’ Daughter Poppy arrived on August 31. ‘She is the absolute love of our lives,’ he wrote via Instagram on September 3.

February 2023
McIlroy appeared in the Netflix documentary series Full Swing, but he set clear boundaries when it came to filming his family.  

He emphasized that filming him at golf tournaments was acceptable, but filming at his house, in his car, or near his family was strictly off-limits.   This was a decision he communicated to the Golf Channel.