‘Awkward’ Erica Stoll’s secret ache on the Masters as her husband Rory McIlroy’s rumoured ‘different girl’ ex-girlfriend watches from the sidelines

Standing by the sidelines in an immaculate white outfit, with her best Mona Lisa smile on display, it was hard to believe that it’s only been 11 months since Erica Stoll was facing divorce papers from her husband Rory McIlroy.

A month later he made a surprising U-turn by announcing they had reconciled, and this week, the New York native did her best to put all the drama behind her as she supported her victorious Northern Irish partner at the Masters.

But just hours after his hat trick achievement there came an unwelcome reminder of their rift when CBS sports reporter Amanda Balionis took to Instagram to praise Rory’s ‘legacy’ achievement.

Amanda’s comments come just months after rumours that she and Rory had been having some form of a relationship while they were both out on tour. None of these rumours have been proven and neither Amanda nor Rory have outright addressed them.

She wrote: ‘It took 17 Masters starts, 11 years of attempting to complete the career Grand Slam and 73 this week but Rory McIlroy has his Green Jacket and has solidified his legacy alongside Tiger, Jack, Gary, Hogan and Sarazen. What a week and a battle down to the very end.’

Meanwhile, his wife was seemingly waging a battle of her own to put on a brave face and play the supportive spouse as she posed with her husband and their four-year-old daughter Poppy for official photos and congratulated him with a kiss after his victory.

However, according to a body language expert, the resounding impact of that humiliating divorce announcement is understandably still weighing heavily on Erica.  

Reaching out to Erica, Rory shared an emotional hug with the mother-of-one – but Erica appeared ‘more polite, subdued and tempered’, Judi James told FEMAIL.

The body language expert said: ‘Erica uses back pats, which are firstly a gesture of gentle affection but which also usually signal a desire to break from an embrace, while Rory appears much more clingy.

‘Rory looks overwhelmed and clingy, while Erica’s response appears a little more polite, subdued and tempered.’

There was widespread surprise when Rory filed to divorce Erica last May – just days before the beginning of the PGA Championship, the second major championship of the golfing calendar. 

But the player performed an astonishing U-turn just a month later, calling off the split and announcing that the couple had ‘resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning’

Friends suggested the real reasons driving the reconciliation were Rory’s fears over paying out a huge chunk of his £200million fortune to lawyers and his inability to ‘be on his own for more than five minutes’.

Following a turbulent year off the course, McIlroy, 35, finally slayed his demons at Augusta National on Sunday to complete the career Grand Slam after 11 years of trying, pipping Justin Rose to the Green Jacket in a dramatic playoff. 

After his winning birdie putt dropped to seal the victory over his Ryder Cup teammate, Rory rushed to his wife of eight years, Erica, 37, and their four-year-old daughter Poppy.

Judi told FEMAIL: ‘Rory rushes over to share his emotional state with his wife and his display here mimics one of a needy child looking for a more nurturing response, which is exactly what he gets from Erica. 

‘Rory throws both arms out towards her like a toddler looking for a hug, then he clings round Erica’s neck, showing his vulnerable side.

‘While Rory clings Erica pats his back and then strokes it in a tender-looking ritual. As he pulls back she also strokes his face to display gentle affection. 

‘Their ritual suggests a message of “we did it” as though acknowledging they both overcame challenges to reach this peak of success.’

The freshly crowned five-time major winner later paid tribute to his family during his Green Jacket ceremony. 

‘Last but not least, over to my left, my family, my team,’ he said, trailing off as the tears threatened to spill again. 

‘They’ve been on this journey with me the whole way through. They know the burden that I’ve carried to come here every year and try and try and try again,’ he continued after recomposing himself. 

‘The one thing I would say to my daughter Poppy, never give up on your dreams. Never ever give up on your dreams. Keep coming back. Keep working hard.’

Rory sent shockwaves through the sporting world when he filed for divorce from his wife last May.  

A petition was served on her at their £10million mansion in Jupiter, Florida, on May 13, asking for shared parental custody of their little girl and for a judge to enforce a pre-nuptial agreement the couple signed prior to their marriage in 2017. 

There was then speculation of a potential romance with Balionis after the pair appeared to enjoy a strong rapport during a flirtatious interview at the Wells Fargo Championship. 

But a month later, with the golf world still reeling from news of the split, came an equally unexpected twist as it emerged Rory and Erica had reconciled their differences, with the divorce petition voluntarily dismissed. 

Rory’s attorney Thomas Sasser filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal on his behalf on June 11 in Palm Beach County Courthouse after he and Erica reportedly held secret meetings at their Florida home for a month in a bid to salvage their marriage. 

The meetings were initially focused on how they would co-parent their daughter Poppy, but the conversations eventually led to them reuniting, according to Irish outlet RSVP Live.

Rory addressed the speculation surrounding his relationship status in a statement to The Guardian – two days before the opening round of the US Open.

‘There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game,’ McIlroy said.

‘Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.’

One source close to the sportsman told The Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff in June 2024 that the real reason driving the reconciliation was that McIlroy ‘can’t be on his own for more than five minutes’, adding that, quite simply, he ‘needs the stability’.

Another said he believes the multimillionaire golfer was told by his team that he had been too hasty in his divorce filing and should give his marriage ‘another six months’.

A friend also told Alison: ‘[Rory] definitely can’t be on his own for more than about five minutes. Rory is a nice guy. He’s a good friend and a great golfer, but he’s not a great partner. 

‘I’m not party to the details of his marriage, but I do know that it’s very unbalanced, with him having all the power and her running in circles after him like a 1950s wife.’ 

The friend said Erica ‘does provide the stability that he desperately wants and needs. He won’t cope without anyone at all, but perhaps he thought at the time [of filing for divorce] that she wasn’t the right person.’

The source added: ‘Could I be really cynical and say perhaps this is a way of him avoiding a massive payment to her?

‘There are lots of rumours swirling that he’s done this because he realised how much money he would lose. He’s definitely a man who likes his money. 

‘His wealth is a sign to him of how good he is as a golfer, and he won’t be keen to start splitting that. I think it could be a mixture of the realisation that he won’t see as much of his daughter and will lose half of his money that has made him rethink.

‘Also, he’s really not very good on his own. That could’ve been in the thinking as well.’

Meanwhile, another friend said: ‘Perhaps the cold realisation of exactly how much the divorce could cost him hit hard.

‘McIlroy has amassed a fortune of more than £200m and his projected earnings in his career are predicted to be more than double that figure. Surely he didn’t want to see all that money he’s accrued diminish.

‘It would have felt like a huge waste if millions ended up in the pockets of lawyers.’ 

The friend added: ‘There is also their three-year-old daughter Poppy to consider. Rory is a doting dad and he has strong family values.’

The New York Post reported that the couple had signed a prenup agreement prior to their star-studded April 2017 wedding at Ashford Castle in County Mayo.

Prenuptial agreements are not legally binding in Ireland – or in England and Wales – but they are in the US where it is believed the legal agreement side of the marriage was taken care of before the ceremony. However, conditions vary from state to state.

An insider said: ‘Under Florida law, there are a number of legal challenges that can be made to a prenup, it’s not a ‘done deal’.

‘For example, a key issue would be is the prenup unfair to Erica – is it ‘unconscionable’ under Florida’s Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and it may not be enforceable on those grounds.

‘Basically, you could be looking at the potential for a protracted, extremely messy and expensive legal battle and clearly that is something Rory would want to avoid. It seems like he was headstrong and rushed into this without thinking it through.’

In May 2024, McIlroy was revealed as Northern Ireland’s richest person under 40, with the Sunday Times Rich List reporting his wealth at £225m – up £25m in 2024.

He was also listed at 19 in the Forbes annual list of the world’s highest paid athletes – a total yearly earning of $80.1 million which makes him the second highest paid golfer in the world. 

A source told U.S. Weekly in May that year that there were other issues, too. Apparently Erica had been feeling ‘lonely’ in the marriage as the couple were effectively leading separate lives. 

The source said: ‘She knew what she was getting into with his profession, but once they had Poppy things really changed and she had a new perspective. Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.’ 

After his victory at the recent DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Rory admitted that he had been through ‘a lot this year, professionally and personally’.

‘To have Erica and Poppy here, it means a lot,’ the golf player said in November.

‘It’s the first one they’ve been at in a while and for Poppy to be old enough now to sort of understand what is going on. I had to ask her if I did win, would she come out onto the 18th green with me?

‘Their support means the world to me and to be able to show Poppy what happened and some of the reasons maybe why I’m not around all of the time because I’m working or practising.

‘Hopefully she realises or thinks it’s worthwhile that I’m not there every night for dinner or for bedtime or whatever it is.

‘It’s incredible that they were here with me this week and I’m excited to go and celebrate with them.’

Rory first met New York state native Erica during the 2012 Ryder Cup while she was working for the PGA of America.

He missed his alarm but she helped him make his tee time at Medinah in Illinois by arranging a police escort.

They began dating several months after he abruptly called off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014, with the couple adopting a low profile initially.

‘I am very happy in my love life,’ he said the following summer. ‘We haven’t really been putting it out there. She is from America, which is why I like to spend time in Palm Beach.

‘The past six or seven months have been really nice. That part of my life is going great.’

He proposed in Paris later the same year, and in April 2017 the couple were married at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland, where Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder reportedly delivered live performances.

But Stoll has resolutely shunned the limelight, even keeping her pregnancy under wraps until the third trimester, and has remained a crucial source of calmness and stability throughout the relationship.

‘For me, Erica brings such a level of normality to everything,’ McIlroy explained early in their relationship. ‘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 centre 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 here, and who I am at home.’

The Northern Irishman held his nerve on Sunday to see off Justin Rose to complete a career Grand Slam and end 11 years of heartbreak since his 2014 PGA Championship victory. 

After his winning birdie putt dropped to seal the victory over his Ryder Cup teammate, Rory collapsed to the ground with his head in hands as his shoulders wracked with sobs.

The player joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to capture the four major championships in the Masters era.