Is this the REAL reason Rory McIlroy abandoned his divorce plans?

Rory McIlroy‘s shock divorce U-turn may have been sparked by fears over paying out a huge chunk of his £200million fortune to lawyers, friends believe.

The golf ace, 35, dramatically called off his separation from wife of seven years Erica Stoll on Tuesday, saying the couple ‘realised that our best future was as a family together.’

The change of heart came less than a month after McIlroy served Stoll, the mother of his three-year-old daughter, court papers at their marital home in Jupiter, Florida, informing her that he wanted out of their marriage.

But according to pals close to the four-times major winner, they believe McIlroy grew increasingly concerned that the divorce could rack up millions of pounds worth of legal fees.

A friend said: ‘Perhaps, The cold realisation of exactly how much the divorce could cost him hit hard.

‘McIlroy has amassed a fortune of more than £200m and his projected earnings in his career are predicted to be more than double that figure.

‘Surely he didn’t want to see all that money he’s accrued diminish.

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‘It would have felt like a huge waste if millions ended up in the pockets of lawyers.’

His close circle still believe the couple still have some way to go in order to work out their differences.

The friend added: ‘This doesn’t confirm they have completely reconciled their differences.

‘It’s a cooling off period and the next six months will be telling as to whether they can properly patch up the relationship.

‘There is also their three-year-old daughter Poppy to consider. Rory is a doting dad and he has strong family values.’

The Northern Irishman’s attorney Thomas Sasser filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal on his behalf Tuesday afternoon in Palm Beach County Courthouse.

It said: ‘Petitioner Rory D. McIlroy, by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby voluntarily dismisses, without prejudice, the above styled matter.’

Court officials responded by closing out the case which means McIlroy will have to start from scratch if he does decide he wants a divorce.

Stoll, 36, had 20 days to file a counterclaim or risk having the court grant the divorce by default – but failed to lodge any response or even register an attorney by the June 2 deadline.

Later on Tuesday, McIlroy broke his silence on his marriage rift as the US Open was set to get underway and claimed they were ready for a fresh start.

He said: ‘There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumour is a fool’s game.

‘Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realised that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.’

The New York Post reported that the couple had signed a prenup agreement prior to their star-studded April 2017 wedding at Ashford Castle in County Mayo.

Prenuptial agreements are not legally binding in Ireland – or in England and Wales – but they are in the US where it is believed the legal agreement side of the marriage was taken care of before the ceremony. However, conditions vary from state to state.

An insider said: ‘Under Florida law, there are a number of legal challenges that can be made to a prenup, it’s not a ‘done deal’.

‘For example, a key issue would be is the prenup unfair to Erica – is it ‘unconscionable’ under Florida’s Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and it may not be enforceable on those grounds.

‘Basically, you could be looking at the potential for a protracted, extremely messy and expensive legal battle and clearly that is something Rory would want to avoid. It seems like he was headstrong and rushed into this without thinking it through.’

Last month McIlroy was revealed as Northern Ireland’s richest person under 40, with the Sunday Times Rich List reporting his wealth at £225m – up £25m in 2024.

He was also listed at 19 in the Forbes annual list of the world’s highest paid athletes – a total yearly earning of $80.1 million which makes him the second highest paid golfer in the world.

Reports also suggested that McIlroy, who met Stoll in 2012 when she was working for the PGA of America at the Ryder Cup, has a right to keep their lavish $22million Florida mansion thanks to that prenup agreement.

He has been linked in recent weeks to CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, 38, whom he was seen hugging after the pair did an interview at the recent RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.

Recently it was revealed how McIlroy is ‘ruthless’ in life just as he is on the course, according to those close to his first love, Holly Sweeney.

McIlroy’s childhood sweetheart had her heart broken when the golfer called off their relationship in 2011.

At the time she found a shoulder to cry on in the form of journalist Paul Martin, who is the former editor of the Irish Sunday Mirror.

He told MailOnline he came to know her closely as she gave him an exclusive at the time about her split from McIlroy. At the time of her interview with Paul, Holly had told him: ‘I never thought he would do this to me.’

He added: ‘That was his childhood sweetheart don’t forget, it was pretty ruthless. He can be ruthless – it’s not actually all about the sport or anything – it’s quite ruthless, you know?

‘From what I remember with Holly, he was at a boxing match where he met Caroline Wozniacki and she started to feel a bit weird about it.

‘And then he turns up back from that trip and at the time he had a massive big house in County Down somewhere where he’d built golf holes and everything.

‘And she had dinner in the oven and his driver pulled up and he jumps out of the car and came into the hallway, I’m literally telling you it as she told me.

‘She had a pot of stew in the oven she had been making and he said, ‘I won’t be needing dinner, we need to talk.’

”And then she goes, ‘Right, OK then’ – this is her words – he said, ‘Look, there’s someone else.’

‘So he’s ruthless on the golf course, right? He has to be, that’s why he’s great, and he’s ruthless in his love life, that’s what I’m saying.

‘Because when she told me that story, it was somebody who wants to go and get what they need now.’

Although this move for a divorce was something ‘no one saw coming’, sources close to the couple said McIlroy and wife Erica had been living very separate lives for the past two years. 

The Northern Irishman first met 35-year-old New York state native Erica during the tournament in Illinois, at which she was working for the PGA.

McIlroy and Stoll share three-year-old daughter Poppy Kennedy, who was born in 2020, having tied the knot in 2017 after a storybook meeting at the 2012 Ryder Cup.

He has previously credited the American with helping him make his tee time at Medinah – thanks to a police escort – after he missed his alarm.

He went on to win his match over Keegan Bradley as part of what was later hailed as the ‘miracle at Medinah’.

Despite initially meeting at the Ryder Cup that year, it wasn’t until a few years later that the pair would enter a relationship.

The filing also calls for shared custody and a parenting plan to be established for Poppy.

McIlroy’s attorney was listed as Thomas Sasser, who represented Tiger Woods when his wife divorced him in 2010 after his serial cheating was infamously exposed in an episode that ended with Woods crashing his car into a fire hydrant and a tree.

McIlroy filed for the divorce a day after winning in Charlotte, North Carolina, his second straight PGA Tour win and the 26th of his career.

Asked if he planned to go straight to Valhalla that night, McIlroy said, ‘I’ll probably go home and just sort of reset, then head up to Louisville tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.’

But the four-time major winner then hired Carl Woods – a Palm Beach police officer, who also runs a process serving business, CW Services & Associates – to serve his wife papers at their marital home just 24 hours later on May 13.

Court documents filed in Palm Beach County obtained by DailyMail.com state that their marriage was ‘irretrievably broken’.

They had been signed by the golfer while away at the tournament. 

Friends close to McIlroy’s estranged wife said that Stoll felt ‘lonely’ in their marriage and that the couple had effectively been living separate lives for the past two years while McIlroy played in the PGA tour.

According to the source: ‘She knew what she was getting into with his profession, but once they had Poppy, things really changed, and she had a new perspective.

‘Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.’

And while Stoll stayed home to look after their daughter, journalist Balionis was out on the courses ever present to appreciate McIlroy in person.

Speaking to US Weekly an insider said: ‘A point of contention in Rory’s marriage with Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage.’

McIlroy is, the source added, is ‘a hard person to be married to.’

Meanwhile the golfer has known journalist Balionis for several years and, in 2020, took time out of his busy schedule to film a short video in support of Puppies & Golf, the non-profit founded by Balionis in 2020 and aimed at advocating for rescue dogs, rehousing and in some instances retraining them as support animals for veterans.

The journalist was last seen wearing her own wedding ring in an Instagram post in early February.

She is married to football coach-turned-tech company manager Bryn Renner. 

In recent months, fans have questioned what’s going on with Balionis’s two-year marriage to college football coach-turned tech company account manager, Bryn Renner, 34. 

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The sports journalist and former University of North Carolina quarterback got engaged in 2021 and married in 2022. 

But in recent appearances Balionis has not been wearing her wedding band – the sparkler disappeared from view on social media in February. 

While neither party has filed for divorce, as rumored online, the reporter has reverted on social media from her married moniker of Balionis Renner to her maiden name of Balionis.

Neither Balionis or McIlroy addressed the speculation publicly but an unnamed source told Us Weekly they weren’t dating. 

Despite the swirling rumours, McIlroy and Erica appear to have put in some hard work behind the scenes, with the sudden divorce petition now being struck from the record.  

The May 13 petition gave Erica 20 days to file a counterclaim or risk having the court grant the divorce by default. 

But by the June 2 deadline, she had failed to file any claim or even name a lawyer to represent her.

That afternoon, a signed note from McIlroy formally requested the divorce proceedings be dismissed, and the case was closed by officials.