A Look At Rory McIlroy's Sketchy Dating History Before Erica Stoll

Rory McIlroy's relationship with wife, Erica Stoll, has social media buzzing amid his divorce filing, but she isn't the only woman in his sketchy dating history. But before we dig into McIlroy's past, let's get caught up on his divorce. According to People, McIlroy — who is worth a lot more than you realized – pulled the plug on his relationship with Stoll in May 2024 after seven years of marriage. McIlroy and Stoll, who are parents of one and had been friends for several years before their 2017 wedding, are reportedly attempting to keep their divorce proceedings drama-free, according to McIlroy's manager, Sean O'Flaherty. Unfortunately, outlets are reporting that the spouses were dealing with discontent in their marriage.

According to US Weekly, Stoll wasn't happy with McIlroy being away from home. "A point of contention in Rory's marriage with Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage," a source revealed to the outlet. "Rory was a hard person to be married to." The insider also claimed that they had been leading separate lives in recent years. And while it's been reported that McIlroy's neighbors in Florida were shocked to hear about his divorce, some of his inner circle has chimed into the conversation — and they haven't painted him in a positive light.

Meghan Markle and Rory McIlroy have never claimed each other romantically.  However, Markle acknowledged their friendship in August 2014 when she revealed McIlroy to be her ice bucket challenge partner in an effort to promote donations and research for Lou Gehrig's disease. "#ALSicebucketchallenge accepted!" Markle posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, in April of that year (via Page Six)."Special thanks to @McIlroyrory :)." Markle's flirty use of the smiley-face emoji had people questioning the nature of their bond, but her complimentary blog comments about McIlroy pushed things into overdrive. 

Markle took to The Tig to rhapsodize about McIlroy's personal and professional qualities. "Ah yes. Rory McIlroy ... Whispered (and shouted) to be the foremost golfer in the world, loved by Tiger, respected by Palmer, and dumper of frigid water on to my lone head for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge," wrote Markle, according to Page Six. According to the book "Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors," Markle's fondness for McIlroy reportedly had her then-boyfriend, chef Cory Vitiello, questioning if their bond was romantic. Author Tom Bower wrote that while Markle and Vitiello were at dinner with McIlroy, "She was spotted looking 'smitten,' gazing intently at McIlroy." He continued, "Again he challenged Meghan. 'Had there been an affair?'" 

Markle reportedly denied the accusation.

Earlier that same year, McIlroy was in a seemingly happy relationship with his fellow athlete, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, whom he'd been with since 2011 and had recently proposed to. However, McIlroy announced their split in May 2014. "The problem is mine," McIlroy said, according to US Weekly. "The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize that I wasn't ready for all that marriage entails. I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we've had." Unfortunately, for Wozniacki, McIlroy broke off their relationship with a three-minute phone call, according to The Times.

The tennis pro was gracious to McIlroy in her initial statement by asserting that she wanted to keep what had happened in her personal life private. "I just have to move on," she said. Ten years later, however, Wozniacki reportedly has some pretty unsympathetic thoughts about McIlroy's divorce. According to a source who spoke with US Weekly, the tennis star "wants no part of his drama." One of Wozniacki's friends claimed to the Daily Mail that McIlroy was threatened by her career. 'When McIlroy and Caroline met, he loved that she was as famous as him and understood sport," they said. "When they split up, it was because she was as famous as him and understood sport. The poor woman couldn't win."

Wozniacki has since married David Lee, a former NBA star.