Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki were seemingly a perfect match — until their engagement abruptly ended over the phone years ago.
The golf pro and tennis star began dating in 2011, and they got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2013. Months later, McIlroy called off the engagement via a phone call.
“The problem is mine,” McIlroy said in a May 2014 statement. “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.”
While McIlroy and Wozniacki were linked, he met PGA transport official Erica Stoll, who helped him get to the Ryder Cup in 2012 after he overslept. After McIlroy and Wozniacki split, he began dating Stoll — whom he wed in April 2017. Us Weekly confirmed in May 2024 that McIlroy filed for divorce from Stoll after seven years of marriage. McIlroy and Stoll share daughter Poppy, who was born in September 2020.
Wozniacki, for her part, moved on with former NBA player David Lee, whom she wed in 2019. The pair have since welcomed daughter Olivia and son James in June 2021 and October 2022, respectively.
Scroll down for a complete timeline of McIlroy and Wozniacki’s romance:
August 2011
McIlroy confirmed he was dating Wozniacki in August 2011, per the Telegram. The duo were spotted attending the New Haven Open tennis tournament.
Related: Golf Pro Rory McIlroy and Wife Erica Stoll’s Relationship Timeline
December 2013
McIlroy popped the question to Wozniacki on New Year’s Eve in Sydney, Australia. “Happy New Year everyone! Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! … I said YES!!!!” Wozniacki wrote via X at the time, alongside a collage of pics from the milestone moment.
May 2014
McIlroy called off the engagement in May 2014. The twosome planned to wed that November. After releasing a statement about the separation, McIlroy described the separation as a mutual decision.
“It is quite a difficult time for Caroline and myself, and the statement really said it all this morning,” McIlroy said per ESPN at the BMW PGA Championship. “It was mutual, and we both thought it was the best for us, the best for both of us. Time to move on, and I’ve said all that I need to say.”
Reports subsequently circulated that McIlroy ended their relationship with a phone call — that lasted only a couple minutes. “Except that the last time he called, less than a day after telling her how much he loved her, it was a three-minute conversation she thought was a joke,” The Times wrote in a May 2014 article.
Related: Celebrities Who’ve Dated or Found Love With Athletes
September 2014
Months after the pair called it quits, Wozniacki opened up about the breakup.
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“I was shocked. I thought at least it would be face to face or something but there was nothing. It was a phone call and I didn’t hear from him again,” Wozniacki said on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. “It was very hard because he made it very public from the start. He put out a press release and all of that so it just got put in my face.”
April 2025
Wozniacki was present at the 2025 Masters and did an interview with ESPN but made no mention of her ex. After McIlroy won the tournament, a source exclusively told Us that Wozniacki “has moved on with her life.”
“She has two beautiful children and a third on the way and a loving husband in David Lee,” the insider noted. “The Rory stuff is water under the bridge at this point. She was invited to the Masters and she’s a huge sports fan and David is an avid golfer.”
