Rory McIlroy ‘point of contention’ with wife Erica Stoll emerges with divorce papers filed
It was confirmed last week that Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll had officially filed for divorce.
Rory Mcllroy’s intense golf schedule has been cited as the reason is marriage to Erica Stoll has broken down. Last week, on the eve of the US PGA in Valhalla, it was announced that the pair had filed for divorce having been married since April 2017, with the four-time major champion’s representatives confirming the news via a released statement.
“Rory Mcllroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed,” a spokeswoman told The Irish Star. “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.”
The 35 year old’s split was widely perceived to be a surprise development, with no previous hints of any problems between the couple. But now Us Weekly have quoted a friend of Stoll, claiming she became lonely with Mcllroy invariably away from home and competing in tournaments on a weekly basis.
“A point of contention in Rory’s marriage with Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage,” they allegedly said. “Rory was a hard person to be married to. They were living very different lives the last two years with him being on the road, and eventually she had a breaking point.”
The couple tied the knot at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, having initially met at the 2012 Ryder Cup when Stoll was working for the PGA. And it was the American who helped her future husband when he famously needed a police escort to arrive at the course in Medinah on the final day, having overslept due to a time zone mixup and nearly missed his tee off.
They began dating three years later after McIlroy, 35, had called off his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. During her time with the PGA organisation, Stoll served as an office manager before being promoted to manager of championship volunteer operations.
In September 2020, the pair had daughter Poppy, and the source also implied that Stoll has started to struggle with the notion of juggling parenting and supporting her husband on the PGA Tour, adding: “She knew what she was getting into with his profession.
“But once they had Poppy, things really changed and she had a new perspective. Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.”
The Northern Irishman didn’t look like a man in personal turmoil during his first round in Kentucky, carding a five under par 66 to raise hopes of ending his decade long major drought. He couldn’t maintain his challenge though, and eventually finished tied for 12th on four under par, 17 shots off winner Xander Schauffele.
In his pre-tournament press conference, McIlroy had refused to comment on his break-up with Stoll, but did imply the issue had not affected his preparation. He simply told reporters “I’m ready to play this week” before declining to answer questions on his private life.
