Scandalous Rumors About Rory McIlroy We Can No Longer Ignore

Rory McIlroy has said in the past that he doesn't address rumors for the most part, referring to doing so in an interview with The Guardian as "a fool's game." However, on the odd occasion, he has addressed what's been said — and it's just as well, because some of the hearsay has been too scandalous not to. 

We'll start with one of the situations McIlroy had been acknowledging in the aforementioned interview. As many will remember, 2024 wasn't exactly a great time in the golfer's love life, and in mid-May (while he was competing in the PGA Championship), he filed for divorce from his wife, Erica Stoll. Though his comms team said no statement would come from the golfer himself, one detail that did emerge was McIlroy's claim in the documents that his and Stoll's union was "irretrievably broken," per ESPN.

Understandably, that wording raised a ton of eyebrows, and we all started looking back at any red flags we missed in McIlory and Stoll's relationship. Like we said, McIlroy made it clear he didn't want to talk about it, but another detail that came to the fore (geddit?) was an insider claim that he and Stoll had drifted from one another. Speaking to Us Weekly, the source said the couple was "living very different lives the last two years with him being on the road, and eventually she had a breaking point." The same insider also claimed, "Erica was lonely in their marriage." All that said, neither she nor McIlroy confirmed or denied any of the claims. What's more, around a month after the golfer filed, the divorce took an unexpected U-turn and McIlroy and Stoll were firmly back "on."

Though Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll's divorce was called off within weeks of his filing, many were quick to start drawing conclusions in that time. Enter, the rumors that McIlroy was having an affair with CBS's Amanda Balionis. 

That particular rumor began after Balionis interviewed McIlroy after his Wells Fargo Championship win, and the two seemed to be in coordinating outfits. While they did appear super matchy-matchy, light pink in spring is about as groundbreaking as florals, so it was no smoking gun. However, things did take a turn after reports emerged that fellow sportscaster Camille Stroud had commented under a snap from the interview, which Balionis had posted to her Instagram, "You two" (via Daily Mail). It seems as though the comment was subsequently taken down — but the damage was already done. Deux Moi, which notably comes with the disclaimer that not everything published is fact-checked, ran a story that McIlroy had been seen picking up takeout for the two of them under the name Amanda. Then there were the social media quips that spelled out the fact that they were completely fabricated. "So Rory was possibly getting with Amanda Balionis from CBS. It's a rumor I heard from the divorce. That would be a spicy meatball if true. I like both of them. Maybe I made it up," wrote one X user (via Daily Mail). 

True to what he'd already said about not making comments on his divorce, McIlroy never confirmed or denied the rumor, nor did Balionis. Unfortunately, as pointed out by Daily Mail, one consequence of not saying anything was the assumption that it was at least partially true. Then again, we refer once more to McIlroy's stance to The Guardian on correcting rumors: "a fool's game."

Even in the wake of the unverified affair rumors, Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll called off their divorce in June 2024. At the time, McIlroy told The Guardian, "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." A massive turnaround, considering the divorce filing had claimed their union was "irretrievably broken" ... and in light of the 180, some mused that there may be a different (read: financial) motive behind McIlroy's decision. 

In response to the divorce being called off, an insider told Daily Mail, "Perhaps, the cold realization of exactly how much the divorce could cost him hit hard." Given McIlroy's net worth, they added, "It would have felt like a huge waste if millions ended up in the pockets of lawyers." In other words, not quite as romantic as talking it out. 

As an aside, it's worth noting that Stoll didn't seem to be all that worried about fighting over finances in the divorce. On the contrary, despite the divorce papers warning her that she might lose money or other property if she didn't respond in writing, Stoll didn't do that or even hire an attorney. Another detail that points to McIlroy's money not playing a role in the divorce being called off? He and Stoll are said to have an ironclad prenup. Again, Stoll's decision to not appoint an attorney made it seem as though she wasn't all that pressed about changing their prior agreement. In light of all that, we're going to assume finances probably weren't a key factor in the couple opting to stay together.  

Whatever the reason Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy decided it was better to keep their family together, April 2025 brought a fresh round of raised brows. After McIlroy won the Masters, many perceived it as a red flag that Stoll didn't tag along when he jetted home to Northern Ireland to see his family. Here's the thing: she did. 

Despite his past comments on not addressing rumors, something tells us McIlroy was annoyed by the headlines suggesting he and Stoll were still on the rocks, because he made a point of correcting them. Speaking to the press, McIlroy shared of his trip to the U.K., "We first went to London with Erica and Poppy to see our new home that we're building and we made the trip over to Belfast to see a few other people that are important to us. Just to be with them, to be with Erica and Poppy and my mum and dad ... was absolutely amazing" (via Men's Journal). 

It's possible McIlroy's comments were also inspired by the criticism Stoll had received for her more pared-back response to his Masters victory. Speaking to Daily Mail, one body language expert described Stoll's demeanor as "subdued," which paved the way for discussions about trouble in paradise. McIlroy has long gushed that Stoll being down to earth is one of the things he loves most about her, telling The Guardian back in 2015, "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 center of attention." Perhaps sticking with a simple-yet-pointed statement that Stoll had been in both London and Belfast was for the best, then.

Switching gears to rumors about Rory McIlroy's professional life, one scandalous claim is that he was considering moving to LIV Golf, provided the series coughed up a whole lot of cash. However, much like a number of the other rumors surrounding the golfer, that wasn't true. 

On the off chance you're not familiar with McIlroy's stance on LIV Golf, the golfer has made it very clear he has zero time for the series. In fact, he's even been quoted as saying, "If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth, I would retire" (via Golf Digest). Granted, he's since gone on to say some of his comments on the golfers who have joined the controversial series may have been too condemnatory — and that's probably what prompted the rumor that he was considering joining the tour. Even so, when reports that he'd been tempted by an $850 million payday began doing the rounds in April 2024, McIlroy laughed it off. "I honestly don't know how these things get started. I've never been offered a number from LIV, and I've never contemplated going to LIV. ... I think I've made it clear over the past two years that I don't think it's something for me," he told Golf Channel. 

We will give the golfer snaps for keeping things diplomatic, even while making it clear the $850 million paycheck was nothing more than a rumor. "I think one of the things that I've realized over the past two years is people can make their own decisions ... who are we to judge them?" he shrugged. Nevertheless, he reiterated where his loyalties would always lie: "Personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour."

While a number of the rumors surrounding Rory McIlroy's personal and professional life have seemed sketchy, without a doubt, the most scandalous were the rumors that popped up suggesting he'd cheated to win the Masters. Luckily, though, the sites purporting that the five-time major championship winner had used swing assist technology were dubious at best — and a number of golf fans spoke out about the obviously false headlines. 

ICYMI, fake news sites were quick to spread claims that McIlroy had used illegal technology to secure his victory. We won't get into the details (because said details are lies), but we will give a shout-out to the fans who called them out. Responding to the St. Andre Facebook page that shared a link to the article, one follower complained that it wasn't the type of content they'd signed up for. "I thought St Andrews Golf did funny videos ... this stupid s*** is ridiculous," they wrote. Another commenter, named a "top fan" on the Facebook page, also called it out. "Stop with fake news," they wrote. 

It's not clear why St. Andre Golf posted the link, or even if there was hacking at play, as, like the one commenter noted, it wasn't the page's typical content. As for McIlroy, he hasn't said anything about it. Not that we're expecting him to. As demonstrated by how he's handled most of the rumors about him, he prefers to keep his responses short and sweet, if he says anything at all. Well, except for when it comes to LIV Golf, anyway.