BREAKING: Rory McIlroy files for divorce from wife Erica and gives official reason after 12-year relationship and on eve of US PGA
Rory McIlroy and his wife of seven years Erica Stoll filed for divorce on Monday less than 24 hours after he won the Wells Fargo Championship, as he prepares for the PGA Championship at Valhalla
Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll have filed for divorce on the eve of the PGA Championship after seven years of marriage.
The Northern Irishman, 35, submitted the documents in Florida on Monday. The pair first started dating in 2014, two years after they first met.
McIlroy’s communications team confirmed the news in a statement, adding: “Rory’s desire is to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible. He won’t be making any further comment.”
Their first interaction was at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, where Stoll was working at the event. McIlroy thanked her for arranging a police escort when he almost missed his tee time due to missing his alarm.
McIlroy was engaged to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at the time, but he said in a statement confirming the breakup in 2014 that he “wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails”.
The four-time major champion sparked up a romance with Stoll soon after. He proposed to her in Paris, France in 2015.
McIlroy and Stoll tied the knot in 2017 with a lavish ceremony at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland. One Direction star Niall Horan and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin were among the guests, while music icons Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder performed at the event.
McIlroy and Stoll have one child together, Poppy Kennedy McIlroy, who was born in 2020. The couple has largely chosen to keep their private life away from the glare of the public eye, with the vast majority of McIlroy’s social media posts dedicated to his pursuits on the course. He also instructed the directors of the Netflix show Full Swing that his wife, daughter and parents were not to be filmed.
However, the McIlroy clan were all together for the par-three contest at the 2023 Masters, with Stoll and Poppy caddying for him in the ceremonial event.
Stoll grew up in New York and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2008 with a marketing degree. She went on to work for the Professional Golf Association of America.
McIlroy told WHAM-TV that he felt at home at last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester. “It’s nice to come back to somewhere that you’re familiar with. You’ve got really good memories and sort of good karma.”
News of the split comes just two days before the PGA Championship at Valhalla, Kentucky, where McIlroy is among the favourites to lift the Wannamaker Trophy after surging into form in recent weeks.
McIlroy won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside close friend Shane Lowry last month before romping to victory at Quail Hollow on Sunday, perhaps playing some of his best golf in years.
But the Ulsterman has been juggling matters in his personal life at the same time. McIlroy arrived at Valhalla on Monday and was out on the course for a practice round on Tuesday before a rain delay intervened.
The world number two will hold his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday at 8pm BST.
