Cozy Pic Of Rory McIlroy & Reporter Amanda Balionis Won't Help The Affair Rumors

Once the 2026 Masters got in full swing, it seemed there was more to golf than meets the eye, as messy rumors about an affair between Rory McIlroy and reporter Amanda Balionis continued to fly. McIlroy likely knew that he was going to be under intense scrutiny during the tournament as the public kept a close watch for not only his excellent form but also some flirty behavior. Rumors about the golfer and the reporter began in 2024, conveniently right around the time when McIlroy filed for a divorce from Erica Stoll. The Daily Mail was the first to report on this after the two engaged in a flirty interview in which Balionis wasn't wearing her wedding ring. Shortly after, news of McIlroy's divorce filing broke.

Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire

This photo from 2025 shows the two cozied up together during an interview in Pebble Beach, California, at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. McIlroy has his arm around Balionis in a way that screams more than friends. If anything, McIlroy should have started treading lightly around Balionis, especially considering that he's still married to Stoll. While McIlroy filed for divorce in 2024, the two called it off about a month later, with McIlroy saying in a statement to The Guardian, "Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together." The backtrack on the divorce was certainly an interesting choice given the publicity of it all, but the two are still together as of this writing.

According to Alan Shipnuck's book, "Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf's Most Human Superstar," Rory McIlroy's affair rumors don't come as a surprise. While Shipnuck reports that insiders close to McIlroy and Amanda Balionis maintain that the two were never engaged in an affair, it's a rumor that the public just can't overlook. Shipnuck writes, "That there were rumors about McIlroy's love life wasn't totally surprising given his ribald streak." Apparently, McIlroy is prone to reckless behavior, and has even been compared to the notorious Tiger Woods. McIlroy has yet to achieve Woods' level of self-destruction, but he's been known to go on mysterious guy trips to Ibiza, which in many ways is temptation island for a man with a fragile marriage.

McIlroy's wife, Erica Stoll, is often compared to Woods' ex-wife, Elin Nordegren. The two's similarities stem from their desire to remain private, never providing interviews or insight into their lives as the wives of athletes at the top of their game. Despite their differing personalities, McIlroy reportedly still chose to court Stoll back in 2012, when he was still dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. There's no proof that any infidelity occurred while the athletes were dating, but McIlroy's reckless behavior made itself apparent as their relationship developed. McIlroy started dating Stoll a few months after breaking off his engagement with Wozniacki. Given McIlroy's pattern of behavior, rumors of an affair with Balionis don't seem like anything out of the ordinary.