According to a report, Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll’s divorce came as no surprise to some within their inner circle.
McIlroy, 35, filed to end his marriage to Stoll, 36, on May 13 after seven years of marriage, fresh off his last win at the Wells Fargo Championship.
News of the split came as a surprise, as the explosive introduction came just three days before the PGA Championship, the second major of the year, at Valhalla Golf Club.
However, a source close to the couple has now revealed US Weekly that their marriage had reached the “breaking point.”
“A point of contention in Rory’s marriage to Erica was that Erica felt alone in her marriage,” the source told Us. It was difficult to marry Rory.
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll’s marriage had reportedly reached a ‘breaking point’
The PGA Tour professional filed for divorce last week after seven years of marriage
The couple had been ‘living separate lives’ due to McIlroy’s life on the PGA Tour.
They added that the couple had reportedly been living separate lives for the past two years due to the PGA Tour star being away from home for tournaments and Stoll finally reaching a “breaking point.”
McIlroy and Stoll, who married in 2017, share a daughter, Poppy, 3, whom they welcomed in 2020.
After becoming a mother, Stoll is said to have thrown herself into parenthood, making Poppy her priority, especially when the impact of McIlroy’s PGA Tour lifestyle hit the road.
“She knew what she was getting into with her career, but once they had Poppy, things really changed and she had a new perspective,” the source added.
“Erica was usually absent during most of her tournaments and was very focused on Poppy.”
McIlroy broke his silence on the split last Tuesday through his communications team, who issued a brief statement confirming that he had filed for divorce. They highlighted Rory’s desire to ensure the process is “as respectful and friendly as possible.”
But the four-time major winner refused to address the breakdown of his marriage before last week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
24 hours after the news leaked, McIlroy addressed the media, who had been warned by a moderator that he “will not be making any further comments about his private life.”
A source told US Weekly that Stoll, a native of upstate New York, had become “reclusive” in the marriage.
The couple share a three-year-old daughter, Poppy, who was born in 2020 (McIlroy, Poppy and Stoll pictured in 2023).
Stoll is said to have thrown himself into fatherhood, making Poppy his priority.
Erica was on McIlroy’s bag for the Masters Par-3 event with her daughter Poppy in 2023.
The closest anyone came to being on the sidelines of that discussion was asking him how he was doing. McIlroy, seeing the subtext, offered just six words in response: “I’m ready to play this week.”
But the Northern Irishman failed to repeat his success from 2014, when he won his last major at Valhalla. He finished tied for 12th, nine shots behind the first major winner, Xander Schauffele.
mcilroy, whose career earnings total nearly $87 million, met Erica, a New York state native, during the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah in Illinoisin that she was working for the PGA.
He had previously credited the American with helping him reach his departure time in Medinah, thanks to a police escort, after the alarm was missed.
McIlroy finished tied for 12th at the PGA Championship, nine behind winner Xander Schauffele
He then won his match over Keegan Bradley as part of what was later hailed as the “Medinanah Miracle”.
Although they initially met at the Ryder Cup that year, it wasn’t until a few years later that the pair entered into a relationship.
A few months after calling off his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014, McIlroy and Stoll got together before getting engaged a year later.
The four-time Major champion and Stoll kept their relationship largely private before tying the knot in a lavish ceremony in Ireland in 2017.
