Pro golfer Rory McIlroy hugged CBS reporter Amanda Balionis after she interviewed him at the RBC Canadian Open, which only fueled rumors that the two are in a romantic relationship amid his split from Erica Stoll.
TMZ shared a photo of Rory, 35, and Amanda, 38, as they hugged and then sat next to one another smiling. Even though there have been whispers of a romantic relationship between the two, Us Weekly confirmed on May 29 that they are not dating.
On May 12, Amanda and Rory had a flirty exchange when she interviewed him after his win at the Wells Fargo Championship. The following day, on May 13, Rory filed for divorce from Erica, 36, in Florida. However, fans were already speculating that there was trouble in paradise when Rory failed to mention his and Erica’s seventh wedding anniversary on April 22.
“Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed,” a representative for the golfer told the Irish Star on May 14. “They stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible. He will not be making any further comment.”
After news of Rory’s filing broke, clips of the May 12 interview began recirculating and adding more fuel to the fire.
“[They] only added fuel to the fire [of dating rumors] when they got flirty during a recent interview,” an insider exclusively shared with In Touch.
The source continued, “[Rory] was a hard person to be married to. Erica was lonely in the marriage and she eventually reached a breaking point.”
To fan the flames even more, fans noticed that Amanda, who’s been married to football coach Bryn Renner since 2022, hasn’t been wearing her wedding ring. Plus, the CBS reporter changed her name on X from Balionis Renner to Balionis. Neither Rory nor Amanda have addressed the speculation around their relationship.
Rory and Erica met in 2012, but he was dating Caroline Wozniacki at the time. While Rory and Caroline, 33, went on to get engaged, they ultimately called the wedding off before they walked down the aisle. Erica and Rory reconnected and began dating in the fall of 2014.
“The thing I love about it is that we were friends before anything romantic happened,” Rory explained during an interview with the Irish Independent in 2017. “We met when she was working for the PGA of America and renting a condo in Palm Beach and I found it refreshing being with someone who was living a normal life rather than, ‘Oh! My jet is 30 minutes late.’”
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