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AUGUSTA, GA – APRIL 09: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks alongside his caddie/girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki during the 2014 Par 3 Contest prior to the start of the 2014 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2014 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
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AUGUSTA, GA – APRIL 09: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks alongside his caddie/girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki during the 2014 Par 3 Contest prior to the start of the 2014 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2014 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
The list of greats often includes Rory McIlroy. The current world number one spent the last decade at the top ranks of the OWGR. While the entire golfing community knows him for his accomplishments in the game, he is also well-known in another sport. Tennis.
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Rory, was once engaged to former world number 1 tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. Things don’t go exactly as planned.
Rory McIlroy and Caroline’s messy breakup
Rory and Caroline first met at a boxing match between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2011. They instantly hit it off. Less than 3 years later, on the eve of New Year’s Eve in 2014, Rory asked Caroline to marry him, and she happily agreed.
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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 14: Tennis star, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland after the first round of the DP World Tour Championship, on the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 14, 2013 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
The couple had become popular news in the sports world. Both McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki were doing extremely well in their sports and had become a power couple. The news of their wedding spread like wildfire, and the fans were excited. Trouble began when their wedding invitations went out.
Read Also – Rory McIlroy’s Daughter: Here’s Why She’s Named Poppy Kennedy
A few days after their invitations rolled out, Rory called Caroline and told her that he was breaking off their engagement. He said, “The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realise that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails.”
Caroline wouldn’t change a thing
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The Danish tennis star was stunned and heartbroken at the time. She believed she deserved more than an impersonal breakup. “Oh I was shocked,” she said later in an interview. “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.”
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EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND – JUNE 19: Golfer Rory McIlroy watches his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark practice during day four of the AEGON International on June 19, 2012 in Eastbourne, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Despite the messy and controversial ending, Caroline said, “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” She claimed she was happy, and that time had helped heal her, and she stated, “I am so much further along in my life, and I’m so much happier now.”
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Watch This Story – Rory McIlroy Joins Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in Golf History Books
In 2019, she went on to marry former NBA star David Lee, and the two now have a daughter. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, went on to wed Erica Stoll, and the couple has a daughter, Poppy. It seems like the golfer and tennis star’s relationship was an important stepping stone for both of them.
