Discussions over parental intentions regarding their 3-year-old daughter led to a reunion between Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, according to a new report following the golfer’s stunning divorce U-turn.
McIlroy, who filed for divorce from Stoll on May 13 before calling off the split last week, engaged in conversations with his estranged wife at their South Florida mansion “each weekend for the last four weeks, which were the key to saving their marriage,” the Belfast Telegraph reported Sunday, the same day the Northern Irishman suffered a crushing collapse at the U.S. Open.
“The couple agreed to meet and talk about a parenting plan for [daughter] Poppy and out of those face-to-face conversations emerged a reconciliation,” the report stated, with a source noting the rekindling needed “a huge level of trust” from McIlroy, 35, and Stoll.
Stoll, who wed McIlroy in 2017 and welcomed Poppy three years later, was served divorce papers by a private investigator at the family’s home in Jupiter, Fla., last month, the Belfast Telegraph reported, adding Sunday that she “did not make any attempt to hire a lawyer, refused to talk to the media and did not respond to the divorce summons.”
In the days before the divorce was called off, it was reported Stoll missed a deadline to respond to McIlroy’s petition.
“Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together,” McIlroy told The Guardian last Tuesday of the decision to reconcile. “Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”
News of the reunion broke before the start of the 124th U.S. Open, which took place at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina this past weekend.
McIlroy, seeking his fifth major victory and second U.S. Open win, fell short to Bryson DeChambeau after bogeying three of the final four holes for a total of 5-under par.
The LIV Golf star finished at 6-under.
McIlroy left the course swiftly and did not speak to anyone, returning to the Florida mansion shared with Stoll a short while later, The Mirror reported.
He last won a major at the 2014 PGA Championship, which came a month after he won the British Open.