Rory McIlroy has given an update on his marriage, one year after he filed for divorce from wife Erica Stoll, citing an irretrievably broken marriage as the reason for the split.
Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll appear to have made significant progress in their relationship over the past year. The couple hit headlines in May 2024 when McIlroy filed for divorce after seven years, citing an irretrievably broken marriage as the reason for the split.
Shortly after news of the divorce broke, McIlroy was seen without his wedding ring while playing at the 2024 PGA Championship in Louisville. “Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed,” a spokeswoman for McIlroy told the Irish Star that same month. “They stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible. He will not be making any further comment.”
While the news shocked the golf community, it wasn’t a total surprise to everyone. “A point of contention in Rory’s marriage with Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage,” a source told Us in May 2024, claiming, “Rory was a hard person to be married to.”
The insider said that for Stoll, the birth of her and McIlroy’s daughter, Poppy, in August 2020, shifted her priorities.
She knew what she was getting into with his profession, but once they had Poppy, things really changed and she had a new perspective,” the source said, noting that Stoll no longer wanted to be constantly on the road. “Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.”
However, just one month after filing for divorce, McIlroy confirmed that he and Stoll would remain together. He expressed at the time: “There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumour is a fool’s game
Now, nearly a year after the initial shock, McIlroy has opened up about his personal struggles on Netflix’s ‘Full Swing’. On the show, he confesses: “I’ve struggled with trying to be the best golfer, the best husband, the best dad.”
He also gave an update on their marriage now, saying: “There’s parts of my life I like to keep as private as possible. Unfortunately, in this line of work, that isn’t always possible. I have always been protective of my loved ones from people who have ill intentions,” he continued.
And keeping things private seems to be the name of the game for McIlroy, who hasn’t shared any photos of his wife on Instagram since November 2024.
Stoll first met McIlroy in 2012 during the Ryder Cup, where she was working as a PGA transport official. After McIlroy overslept due to a time zone mix-up and nearly missed his tee time, Stoll arranged for a police escort to get him to the course in Medinah, Illinois.
McIlroy later recalled their first meeting during an interview on the Golf Channel.
“Erica that week was always the one checking us in and out. She was in charge of transportation, so she was always in the car park. It’s still cool to think back on that week, and everything that’s happened since. It’s pretty amazing,” he said.
Over the years Stoll has accompanied McIlroy to multiple Ryder Cups which took place in Chaska Minnesota in 2016 and Paris in 2018 and Kohler Wisconsin in 2021 and Rome in 2023.
McIlroy and Stoll maintained a close friendship until he split with Wozniacki which eventually turned into a romantic romance in 2014. New Year’s Eve 2013 marked the marriage proposal between the couple however they separated soon after the festive season.
Erica stands apart from other celebrities because she uses the fame of her husband Rory McIlroy to live her life quietly. According to Lowry Erica prefers a private lifestyle which the couple deliberately chose for their wedding day.
Stoll and McIlroy successfully hid their pregnancy news from public view for several months before revealing it publicly. The pregnancy announcement from McIlroy happened when Stoll entered her third pregnancy trimester.
Our family will become bigger as we are both very happy about becoming parents. We informed our close network about the news yet I chose to keep it from the public domain. The private matter makes us extremely happy according to McIlroy during his NBC news interview following the game.