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These days, Rory McIlroy is married to Erica Stoll. But once upon a time, the golfer was engaged to a fellow athlete and their split became public news.
From pulling the plug on their engagement during a phone call to putting out a press release about their breakup to ending their relationship right after they sent out the wedding invitations, here’s the story of McIlroy’s messy breakup with another woman before meeting his wife.
Who McIlroy dumped amid wedding plans and after invites got sent out
McIlroy’s ex-fiancée is Caroline Wozniacki. The 2025 Master’s champ and former World No. 1 tennis star began dating back in 2011 when he was 22 and she was 21. The pair attended a number of events together and Wozniacki even caddied for her then-boyfriend at the Masters one year.
On New Year’s Eve in 2013, McIlroy got down on one knee and proposed. Wozniacki accepted, and the two began planning a wedding. But in May 2014, the golfing pro decided to end things.
Some reports claimed he did it via text message, but Wozniacki later stated that it was over a brief three-minute phone call. To make matters worse, McIlroy did it right after their wedding invitations were sent in the mail and put out a press release confirming that they called things off.
Once the news was out, the tennis player took to social media and thanked all her fans for their messages of love and support, writing: “It’s a hard time for me right now. Thanks for all the sweet messages!”
McIlroy eventually admitted that he was the one who broke things off, telling the Daily Mail: “There is no right way to end a relationship that has been so important to two people. The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails. I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we’ve had.”
He later told the Irish Independent: “I thought at the time that being with someone that was in a similar position to you was the obvious answer. But it isn’t because you can never get away from it. You can never detach yourself and try to come back to the real world.”
Wozniacki found love after McIlroy, and today she is happily married to retired NBA player David Lee. She often posts sweet family pictures of her husband and their children on social media.
McIlroy was also romantically linked to Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan
Just a few months after McIlroy dumped Wozniacki, the golfing pro was linked to another famous woman.
In August 2014, McIlroy nominated Prince Harry’s future wife, Meghan Markle, to do the Ice Bucket Challenge for the ALS Association to raise awareness about the disease.
According to The Mirror, she agreed to do it only if the athlete dumped the water on her himself. He did, and many thought that was the start of a friendship between the two until Meghan’s blog entry, in which she praised McIlroy and everything about him ignited rumors that they were romantically involved.
She wrote: “Ah yes. Rory McIlroy. THE Rory McIlroy. Whispered (and shouted) to be the foremost golfer in the world, loved by Tiger, respected by Palmer, and dumper of frigid water onto my lone head for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. That Rory McIlroy.
“He is a force who has the propensity to actually work hard and play hard — relishing intense practices to substantiate his title, embracing nights of sipping Opus One (his bold and impressive choice of wine) and indulging in group dinners at Cipriani — for the balance, of course.”
The two never confirmed the rumors that they were an item.
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