Sports stars are notorious for uncomfortable age-gap relationships, but that wasn’t Rory McIlroy’s route when he chose his wife, Erica Stoll, to who he’s been married since April 2017. Unfortunately, their future was nearly cut short when McIlroy filed for divorce in May 2025. “Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed,” said his manager in a statement obtained by ESPN. “They stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible. He will not be making any further comment.”

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Ultimately, the golf star decided to skip the legal headache of a public, expensive divorce and reversed his legal filings less than 30 days later. “Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together,” he said at the time (via The Independent). “Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.” So far, it seems as if the couple are content with their decision to stay together, as they’ve appeared together at several of McIlroy’s golf tournaments and are reportedly readying for a big move across the pond to the UK with their daughter, Poppy.

While nothing can predict whether a couple makes it or not in the end, it’s usually easier for couples with smaller age gaps to sustain mutual interests and things to keep them bonded. But just how far apart are McIlroy and Stoll? Well, only about a year and a half.

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Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy share a nearly non-existent age gap, with Stoll being the older party. Stoll was born on September 10, 1987 — the same year that “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Lethal Weapon,” and “Dirty Dancing” dominated the U.S. box office. Meanwhile, Stoll’s future husband didn’t make his debut into the world until May 4, 1989 — yes, the same year that Taylor Swift also made her grand debut. (That said, he was born roughly seven months before Swift, who was born on December 13, 1989.) Basically, both spouses were born close enough together to share some pretty important cultural experiences together. Hopefully, that’s enough to keep their marriage happy for years to come. Fingers crossed!

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McIlroy, for his part, certainly sounded optimistic about his future with his wife, even though Stoll decided against watching him play in the U.S. Open this year. “It’s always nice to get home,” he shared during a post-game press conference, according to Us Weekly. “I feel like I live two different lives. I’m a dad and a husband when I’m away from here, and then I’m who I am when I’m here. It’s always nice to get away and feel a bit of normality.” He continued, “We’ve got a lot to look forward to, got our new house in London, [playing] the Scottish [Open] and then obviously The Open [Championship] at Portrush. Just trying to get myself in the right frame of mind to approach that.”