What to Know About Rory McIlroy's Marriage to Erica Stoll and Why They Called off Their Divorce

For most fans of professional golf, the sport is what matters most. However, for others, there is no denying the allure of the behind-the-scenes drama that some of the pros have in their personal lives. For Rory McIlroy, it's the fact that he filed for divorce from wife Erica Stoll but later called off the split. Many want to know why Rory McIlroy filed for divorce in the first place.

Again, for many, that doesn't really matter, especially since Rory has proven himself on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He started his professional golfing career in 2007. In 2011, he had a public relationship with Danish tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki that ended a few years later after he reportedly broke things off on a phone call. He would later marry Erica, though their relationship faced its own issues in the public eye.

In May 2024, Rory filed for divorce. According to the Associated Press at the time, the filing stated that the marriage was irretrievably broken, which means neither Rory nor Erica had done anything to be at fault in the marriage. Instead, they likely came to a point in their relationship where they both agreed they could no longer happily be together.

However, a month after Rory filed for divorce, the couple publicly shared that they planned to stay together. At the time, Rory shared with The Guardian that he and Erica decided to stay together for the sake of their family, as they share one child. Rory reportedly told the outlet that they were able to resolve their differences, though no other specifics about why he filed for divorce in the first place were given.

"There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate," he told The Guardian. "Responding to each rumor is a fool's game. Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning."

Since then, the couple has remained together.

Before Rory married Erica, he dated tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki, and they even got engaged. The pair were together from 2011 until 2014, when they split up. The following year, in December 2015, Rory and Erica got engaged. Following her split with Rory, Caroline shared details on In Depth With Graham Bensinger about what happened. She revealed at the time that the breakup was a shock, especially because, according to Caroline, it had happened over the phone.

Before that, Rory put out a press release that explained that when he and Caroline sent out wedding invitations, he realized then that he wasn't ready for marriage. The following year, Rory got engaged to Erica, and they were married in 2017.