According to a report, Rory McIlroy and wife Erica Stoll’s divorce did not come as a shock 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 latest victory at the Wells Fargo Championship.
News of the split came as a surprise: The bombshell filing came just three days before the PGA Championship, the second major of the year, at Valhalla Golf Club.
A source close to the couple has now announced this American weekly that their marriage had reached a ‘breaking point’.
“One point of contention in Rory’s marriage to Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage,” the insider told Us. “Rory was a difficult person to marry.”
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 led “separate lives” due to McIlroy’s life on the PGA Tour
They added that the couple reportedly lived separate lives for the past two years as the PGA Tour star was away from home for tournaments, with Stoll eventually reaching “breaking point.”
McIlroy and Stoll, who married in 2017, share 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 McIlroy’s PGA Tour lifestyle was affected along the way.
“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 added.
“Erica was usually absent from most of his tournaments and was very focused on Poppy.”
McIlroy broke his silence on the split last Tuesday via his communications team, which issued a brief statement to confirm he had filed for divorce. They emphasized Rory’s desire to ensure the process is “as respectful and amicable as possible.”
But the four-time major winner refused to discuss the breakdown of his marriage ahead of last week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
24 hours after the news filtered out, McIlroy addressed the media, who had been warned by a moderator that “he will be making no further comments about his private life.”
A source told US Weekly that Stoll, a native of upstate New York, had become “lonely” in the marriage
The couple share three-year-old daughter Poppy, born in 2020 (McIlroy, Poppy and Stoll pictured in 2023)
Stoll is said to have thrown herself into parenthood, making Poppy her priority
Erica was on McIlroy’s bag for the Masters Par-3 event with their daughter Poppy in 2023
The closest anyone came to the edge of that discussion was asking how they were doing. McIlroy, noticing the subtext, said just six words in response: “I’m ready to play this week.”
But the Northern Irishman failed to repeat his 2014 success as he won his last major in Valhalla. He finished tied for 12th, nine shots behind the first major winner Xander Schauffele.
McIlroy, whose career earnings are nearly $87 million, Erica, a native of upstate New York, first met at the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah in Illinoisbee for which she worked for the PGA.
He has previously credited the American with helping make his start time in Madinah – thanks to a police escort – after he missed his alarm.
McIlroy finished tied for 12th at the PGA Championship, nine behind winner Xander Schauffele
He went on to win his match against Keegan Bradley as part of what was later hailed as the ‘miracle in Medinah’.
Despite first meeting 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 champion and Stoll kept their relationship largely private before marrying in a lavish ceremony in Ireland in 2017.