Rory McIlroy has been romantically linked to several high-profile women, but none more notable than Meghan Markle – now the Duchess of Sussex – whom he met in 2014
Rory McIlroy’s love life has been a rollercoaster ride(Image: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy has a love life that’s been anything but a straight drive down the fairway.
From childhood sweethearts to tabloid-torched engagements and a boozy Big Apple bash with a future duchess, McIlroy’s romantic scorecard is littered with birdies, bogeys, and the occasional out-of-bounds heartbreak.
But amid the drama, the Northern Irish golf phenom found his forever fairway with wife Erica Stoll. Let’s rewind the tape on the golfer’s most memorable swings in the romance department.
McIlroy’s first big love story reads like a coming-of-age rom-com. At just 16, he started dating Holly Sweeney, his high school sweetheart from Co. Down, Northern Ireland. They were together for nearly a decade, with Sweeney supporting his early golf career.
By 2011, after McIlroy won his first major at the U.S. Open, the couple parted ways due to the pressures of his rising fame. McIlroy later described Sweeney as his first love and a grounding influence.
McIlroy met tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at a charity event in 2011, and the pair started dating not long after. They would later get engaged in 2013 during a holiday in Dubai. However, in May 2014, McIlroy called off their engagement, reportedly via a brutal three-minute phone call, stating he was not ready for marriage.
Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki were engaged to be married, but Rory got cold feet(Image: Getty Images)
The breakup was widely publicized, with Wozniacki expressing shock. She later married NBA player David Lee, while McIlroy focused on his golf career.
Later in 2014, McIlroy was briefly linked to Meghan Markle, then an actress in the TV show Suits on the USA Network. They met in New York City during the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. McIlroy poured ice water over Markle, and they spent time together at a hotel bar.
His evening with the now-Duchess of Sussex was described as “hectic”, by author Tom Bowman, who detailed their night out in his book ‘Revenge: The Meghan and Harry Story’. These drinks apparently affected McIlroy’s golf game, as he played in an event the next day.
McIlroy and Markle reportedly enjoyed a “hectic” night out together in 2014(Image: @McIlroyRory/Twitter)
“The following morning, McIlroy arrived at the Ringwood golf course to play in a new competition,” Bowman wrote. “Worse for wear after a hectic night, he fell back to 101st place. His performance suffered. ‘I wasn’t quite on my game,’ he confessed. ‘I was enjoying myself’.”
Their connection was was short-lived, as Meghan soon began seeing someone else. Eventually, she would date Prince Harry, before tying the knot with the British royal in 2018.
Post-Meghan, McIlroy swore off the spotlight, vowing to keep future romances low-key. However, Erica Stoll had other ideas.
Rory started dating Erica Stoll in 2015(Image: Icon Sport via Getty Images)
Stoll, a PGA of America event operations pro, first caught McIlroy’s eye at the 2012 Ryder Cup. They connected again in 2014 at the same event in Scotland, sparking a slow-burn courtship that started as friendship.
By 2015 they were official, and Rory proposed in 2016 at a breathtaking French chateau. They got hitched in a lavish ceremony in an Irish castle in 2017, with 200 guests, including former One Direction member Niall Horan and several golfing colleagues in attendance.
Their fairy tale hit a bunker in May 2024 when McIlroy filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences after a seven-year relationship and the birth of their daughter, Poppy. Whispers of strain from his grueling schedule and unfounded links with CBS reporter Amanda Balionis fueled the fire.
The couple’s daughter, Poppy Kennedy, was born in 2020(Image: Getty Images)
But true to form, Rory doubled down on family. Days before their eighth anniversary in 2025, he dropped the divorce bid, releasing a joint statement: “We’ve realized that our best is still ahead.”
The couple welcomed daughter Poppy in 2020, and with McIlroy finally nabbing that elusive Masters green jacket this spring – completing his career Grand Slam- they appear stronger than ever.