Your daily adult tube feed all in one place!
Rory McIlroy is 'trying to find himself' amid bombshell divorce from wife Erica Stoll
Rory McIlroy is said to be doing some soul searching amid his divorce from wife Erica Stoll.
McIlroy, 35, filed to end his marriage to Stoll, 36, on May 13 after seven years of marriage, fresh off his latest victory at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Yet despite his latest win at Quail Hollow, the World No. 3 is focused on getting back to winning ways on the course amid his turbulent life off the course.
'He's just trying to find himself, focus and get back to winning,' a source told People, adding that McIlroy, 35, 'went through such a winning phase and hasn't done much in the last five-ish years.'
The divorce isn't the Northern Irishman's only woe off the course. He's been the PGA Tour's staunchest support amid the battle with LIV Golf.
Rory McIlroy is said to be doing some soul searching amid his divorce from wife Erica Stoll
He had quit the PGA Tour Policy Board late last year citing personal and professional reasons, but had been expected to replace Webb Simpson upon his return.
But three of the five remaining player directors - which comprises of Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth - voted against the move earlier this month.
'Plus, he put his blood, sweat and tears into defending the PGA against LIV golf the last two years and it was basically for nothing,' the source said, referring to the bombshell PGA-LIV merger that rocked the golf world last June.
The source also sympathized with Stoll, noting how tough it is to be a professional golfer's wife due to their busy schedule and the 'hangers-on' and 'beautiful women' that come with it.
'It's a hard life being a golfer's wife,' the source said. 'They're always away at tournaments and practicing, there has to be a lot of trust.'
'You either have to join them on tour and go with it or just have trust in them, it's impossible to expect them to be home and able to help with the kids,' the insider added.
McIlroy and Stoll married in 2017 and share a daughter Poppy, 3, who they welcomed in 2020.
After becoming a mother, Stoll is said to have thrown herself into parenthood, making Poppy her priority, especially when hit came to McIlroy's PGA Tour lifestyle on the road.
McIlroy is focused on getting back to winning ways amid his turbulent life off the course
The couple share a three-year-old daughter Poppy, who was born in 2020 (McIlroy, Poppy and Stoll pictured in 2023)
'A point of contention in Rory's marriage with Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage,' an insider told Us Weekly. 'Rory was a hard person to be married to.'
The source close to the couple also revealed that their marriage had hit 'breaking point'.
'She knew what she was getting into with his profession, but once they had Poppy, things really changed and she had a new perspective,' the source added.
'Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.'
McIlroy, whose career earnings on the PGA Tour total nearly $87million, first met New York state native Erica during the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah in Illinois, at which she was working for the PGA of America.
He has previously credited the American with helping him make his tee time at Medinah - thanks to a police escort - after he missed his alarm.
He went on to win his match over Keegan Bradley as part of what was later hailed as the 'miracle at Medinah'.
Despite initially meeting at the Ryder Cup that year, it wasn't until a few years later that the pair would enter a relationship
A source told US Weekly that New York state native Stoll had become 'lonely' in the marriage
A few months after calling off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014, McIlroy and Stoll got together before getting engaged a year later.
The golfer is said to have dumped his then-fiancée Wozniacki in a three-minute phone call hours after telling her he loved her. Their split came in May 2014, before they were due to marry in November.
McIlroy's breakup with Wozniacki came days before the BMW PGA Championship in England, which he went on to win. At the same event the previous year, he tied for 96th place.
Court documents filed in Palm Beach County last week and obtained by DailyMail.com state that their marriage was 'irretrievably broken'.
The petition for divorce also states that the pair had signed a prenuptial agreement. However, the details of the arrangement have not been divulged.
McIlroy's attorney was listed as Thomas Sasser, the same attorney who represented Tiger Woods when his wife divorced him in 2010.
The filing also calls for shared custody and a parenting plan to be established for Poppy.
McIlroy broke his silence on the split on May 14 through his communications team, who issued a brief statement to confirm he had filed for divorce. They stressed McIlroy's desire to ensure the process is 'as respectful and amicable as possible'.
McIlroy split from tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014 months before they were due to wed
Stoll, who previously worked for the PGA, is said to 'usually be absent' from his events
But the four-time major winner refused to address the breakup of his marriage ahead of last week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
24 hours after the news filtered out, McIlroy addressed the media, who had been warned by a moderator that 'he will not be making any additional comments on his private life'.
The closest anyone got to the fringes of that discussion was to ask how he was doing. McIlroy, spotting the subtext, offered just six words in response: 'I'm ready to play this week.'
But the Northern Irishman failed to replicate his success of 2014 when he won his last major at Valhalla. He finished tied-12th, nine shots back of first-time major winner Xander Schauffele.
Stoll is believed to have stayed at the couple's luxury $22million mansion with daughter Poppy, while McIlroy traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for the PGA Championship, despite the split.
McIlroy purchased the Jupiter, Florida home inside the guard-gated Bear's Club golf community from golf legend Ernie Els for a staggering $11m back in 2012. It is now believed to be worth double.
He said in a statement at the time that he was not ready for marriage - and while he said he would not make any further comment he did answer questions at a press conference that followed ahead of the tournament.
He also collected two major championships victories that year, The Open at Royal Liverpool in July and the PGA Championship in August at Valhalla - the same course as the same tournament last week.
Stoll is believed to have stayed at their $22million mansion over the weekend with Poppy
McIlroy is pictured with his daughter Poppy McIlroy during the 2023 Masters Par 3 contest
The four-time major champion and Stoll kept their relationship largely private before they married in a lavish ceremony in Ireland in 2017.
McIlroy had followed up his team success alongside friend and Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last month with his triumph at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship - one of the PGA Tour's $20million signature events.
However, he failed to end his 10-year major championship drought in Louisville, Kentucky where Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland provided a thrilling Sunday shootout.
He also has not teed it up at Colonial for the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas this week.