Who is Rory McIlroy’s Wife Erica Stoll?
Rory McIlroy is one of the most recognizable figures in the game of golf today. Since joining the PGA Tour in 2007 the golfer, who hails from Northern Ireland, has racked up more than a dozen PGA Tour victories with a handful of majors and surpassed more than $50 million in career earnings. But in May 2024, his name made headlines for a different reason when he filed for divorce from his wife, Eric Stoll.
Rumors swirled about why McIlroy was ending his marriage, but the golfer did not publicly give any public statements or a reason. Then on June 11, McIlroy filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in Palm Beach, Florida, ending his plans to divorce Stoll and told the Guardian, “Erica and I have realized that our best future [is] as a family together.”
Here’s more about Stoll, plus the famous women the athlete was previously linked and engaged to.
McIlroy was engaged to a tennis star before Stoll
Prior to Stoll, McIlroy was set to marry a fellow athlete.
In 2011, he was engaged to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. However, the two broke up in 2014 before they made it down the aisle.
Opening up about their split McIlroy told The Independent: “I thought at the time that being with someone that was in a similar position to you was the obvious answer. But it isn’t, because you can never get away from it. You can never detach yourself and try to come back to the real world.”
There were also reports that the golfer had a brief fling with Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, after he and Wozniacki ended their relationship. But that has not been confirmed.
McIlroy and Stoll met because he overslept
Stoll was born in Irondequoit, New York, and was educated at West Irondequoit High School before attending the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has one sibling — a sister named Natalie. Stoll enjoys sailing, baking, and watching episodes of The Bachelor.
She first met McIlroy in 2012 when she was a PGA employee. The golfing pro had overslept and was late for his tee time for the Ryder Cup at Medinah so Stoll was tasked with getting him and his caddie out to the course that day.
They became friends and later began dating before getting engaged in December 2015. Two years later, the couple tied the knot at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland. Some celebrity guests who attended their wedding included Coldplay’s Chris Martin and One Direction’s Niall Horan. Both Stevie Wonder and Ed Sheeran performed at the affair.
Stoll prefers to stay out of the limelight
Even though her husband is a famous golfer, Stoll likes to fly under the radar. Her Instagram account is private and she tries to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible. McIlroy previously spoke about why his wife prefers to be in the background.
“Erica has been around me quite a lot at tournaments but we have really just tried to keep it low-key,” McIlroy explained. “She is a very low-key person, not the kind to broadcast stuff.”
He continued: “For me, Erica brings such a level of normality to everything. She has a calming presence, a sereneness and that’s not just on me; it is noticeable in any company. She never wants to be the center of attention and is always very comfortable in the background. She has been a great influence on me and has given such a great balance to my life — between who I am when people see me out [on the course] and who I am at home.”
How many children they have
On Aug. 31, 2020, McIlroy and Stoll welcomed their first child, a daughter they named Poppy.
The athlete made the announcement a few days after the baby girl’s arrival via social media and thanked the team of doctors at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida.
