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US golfer Rory McIlroy and Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki formed a dream couple in 2013 when they announced that they were getting married. The pair had been dating since 2011.
However, things took a turn for the worse in May 2014. Just days before the scheduled wedding, when the invites to the ceremony had already been mailed, Rory McIlroy announced that they had parted ways.
Rory said in the social media announcement that it was only after the wedding invites were sent out that he realized that he was not ready for marriage. A part of the announcement read:
"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 realise 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. I will not be saying anything more about our relationship in any setting."
While the announcement came as a shock to the world since Rory McIlroy was described as being so head over heels in love to the point of destroying his career. But what was more shocking was the way he ended things with Caroline Wozniacki.
Apparently, Rory McIlroy broke up with her over a three-minute phone call completely blindsiding her. And according to Wozniacki, after the phone call, she never heard from him again.
Caroline spoke about the high-profile split when she appeared on the Graham Bensinger Show after her loss to Serena Williams at the 2014 US Open. She opened up about how hard it was since McIlroy had made their relationship, public from the start.
The Odense-born believed that she could at least have a face-to-face discussion, but none of that happened.
"It was very hard because he made it very public from the start. He put out a press release so I didn’t have a choice, you know, it just got put in my face. I was shocked. I thought at least, you know, I would get a face to face or something. But there was nothing. It was just a phone call and I did not hear from him again."
Caroline revealed that she was in a shock phase for a while after the cold break-up.
"I don’t think you expect to find yourself in a situation like that, you can’t prepare yourself or your body for anything like that so I think I was in a bit of a shocked phase there for a while."
"I can be myself around her," - Rory McIlroy about wife Erica Stoll
After breaking things off with Caroline Wozniacki, Rory McIlroy began dating former PGA Tour employee Erica Stoll in 2015. In December of that year, the couple was engaged.
He spoke to the Irish Independent about the new relationship, adding that he liked that Stoll had a normal life.
"The thing I love about it is that we were friends before anything romantic happened. We met when she was working for the PGA of American and renting a condo in Palm Beach, and I found it refreshing being with someone who was living a normal life rather than, ‘Oh! My jet is 30 minutes late!'"
He also referred to his previous relationship with Wozniacki when he added that he could be himself around Erica Stoll.
"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.
"And that’s why I feel in such a good place now. I don’t feel Erica wants to change me in any way. I can be myself around her; there’s no bulls**t, no acting, no show."
In response, Caroline Wozniacki said that she couldn't understand why Rory McIlroy kept bringing it up and added that he should move on. She spoke about it at the Australian Open.
"I don’t understand why he keeps bringing it up. Was I surprised? Yes, it’s a little dead by now. It’s three years ago. He looks like he’s doing well. And if he’s doing well, he must surely then look to move on."
Rory McIlroy married Erica Stoll in 2017 at Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo. The couple welcomed their daughter Poppy in September 2020.
On Valentine's Day in 2017, Caroline Wozniacki revealed that she was in a relationship with former NBA basketball player David Lee. After getting engaged in November that year, the couple married in June 2019 at the luxury resort Castiglion del Bosco.
In February 2021, the pair welcomed their daughter Olivia and in October 2022 they gave birth to son James.
