McIlroy, 35, filed for divorce a day after claiming his 26th PGA Tour title at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Court documents filed in Palm Beach County, Florida revealed their marriage was ‘irretrievably broken’ and the couple – who wed in 2017 – had a pre-nuptial agreement to share parental responsibility for their daughter Poppy.
McIlroy’s decision came straight out of the blue given he was wearing his wedding band throughout his appearance at Quail Hollow Club and did not appear to be under any strain.
Looking back, there were subtle clues that something was going on as he did not pay tribute to Erica after his victory that arrived on Mother’s Day.
Instead, an emotional McIlroy spoke of the love and admiration he has for his mother Rosie, whom he described as the ‘rock that holds our family together’.
Now, a source close to Erica has told US Weekly that she became lonely as McIlroy is ‘a hard man to be married to’.
“She knew what she was getting into with his profession, but once they had Poppy, things really changed and she had a new perspective,” they told the publication.
“Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.”
Rory McIlroy, Erica Stoll
Rory McIlroy, Erica Stoll
The source claimed Erica had finally reached ‘breaking point’.
McIlroy refused to entertain questions about his marriage last week as he competed in the second men’s major of the year at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
Once again it was a tale of frustration for the Northern Irishman as he was stuck in neutral for the entirety of the PGA Championship.
His pre-tournament news conference lasted only nine minutes and came with the caveat he wasn’t to be asked questions about his private life.
That didn’t stop a few reporters from trying to illicit a response from the golf star, said to be worth $200m.
One scribe asked him how difficult it was to concentrate on his game given ‘other things going on’ and a perturbed McIlroy said firmly: “I’m very happy to be here.”
Erica was last seen supporting McIlroy at the 2024 Players Championship in March.
A month later, McIlroy decided to skip the annual par-3 contest at the Masters.
Rory McIlroy at the 2024 PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy at the 2024 PGA Championship
It is an event that typically Erica has appeared at with their curly-haired bundle of joy, who is now three years old.
At the time, it was viewed as McIlroy’s latest attempt to switch things up as he tried to complete the career grand slam.
Erica was also present at the 2023 Ryder Cup and packed on the PDA with the Ulsterman after he led Team Europe to a resounding victory at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
It was at the Ryder Cup where she met McIlroy.
Erica worked for the PGA of America and she helped McIlroy get to the course sharpish after he missed his alarm for his Sunday singles match at Medinah in 2012.
During this period, McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and remained friends with Erica.
He got engaged to Caroline, but reportedly dumped her in a three-minute phone conversation after their wedding invitations were sent out.
McIlroy previously said of Erica: “The thing I love about it is that we were friends before anything romantic happened.”
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