Rory McIlroy’s unexpected friendship with Meghan Markle that caused dramas exposed

Before tying the knot with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle generally maintained privacy around her personal relationships and even implemented a social media restriction at her initial wedding to Trevor Engelson.

Nevertheless, following her 2014 divorce, whispers about her connections with Rory McIlroy swiftly captured public attention. Rory, who claimed the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award on Thursday night, and Meghan initially met when the golfing champion challenged her to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge 11 years ago.

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Footage of Rory, who was recently single at the time, drenching Meghan with icy water, sparked widespread rumors about a potential romantic connection, according to the Daily Mail.

Meghan also praised Rory as the “real deal” and described him as a “force” in a preserved entry on her former blog. At one stage, speculation that Meghan, then 33, and Rory, then 25, were romantically linked became so intense that the actress’s previous partner reportedly challenged her about it.

Celebrity chefs ‘angry questioning

Royal biographer Tom Bower alleged that celebrity chef Cory Vitiello, who was involved with Meghan during that period, “angrily” questioned the former Suits actress about whether there “had been an affair” following reports that she and Rory had shared dinner in Dublin.

“Emphatically, Meghan denied she had betrayed Cory. She and McIlroy were just friends, she said,” Bower documented in his book Revenge. Based on Bower’s account, their connection began after Meghan agreed to Rory’s Ice Bucket Challenge invitation, with the stipulation that he personally drench her at her friend’s apartment in NYC.

The pair filmed the challenge to raise awareness for ALS, with Meghan posting the video on her Vimeo account. The clip showed Rory, perched on a step ladder, dousing Meghan with icy water to fundraise for various ALS organizations.

Later that night, John Fitzpatrick, an Irish hotelier and self-proclaimed “huge fan of Suits,” spotted Rory and Meghan at his Fitzpatrick Hotel. He extended an invitation for them to join him and 18 other friends for dinner at Cipriani.

The following morning, Rory embarked on a 30-mile journey to Ringwood golf course for a competition but didn’t perform well. Feeling the effects of the previous night’s festivities, he slipped to 101st place and promptly “drove back to New York to see Meghan,” according to Bower.

Meghan’s heartfelt tribute to ‘cherished’ Rory.

Shortly thereafter, Meghan penned a glowing tribute to Rory on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig. She hailed the athlete as the “foremost golfer in the world.

“Ah yes. Rory Mcllroy,” the future Duchess penned. “THE Rory Mcllroy. Whispered (and shouted) to be the foremost golfer in the world, loved by Tiger, respected by Palmer, and dumper of frigid water on my lone head for the ALS Bucket Challenge. That Rory McIlroy.”

She lauded his “work/play ethic” and “endearing quality,” describing him as “as real and honest as they come.” Meghan highlighted Rory’s “love for his parents” as something “rarely seen in men his age. Or at any age, to be honest. “He is not just the real deal… he is real. And perhaps that is what makes him even more cherished,” she wrote.

Dublin reunion sparks further rumors

Two months later, Meghan and Rory reunited in Dublin after Meghan reportedly “lobbied hard” to secure an invitation to the esteemed One Young World summit. Bower suggested that Meghan, who gained fame from her role in Suits, was realizing that “celebrity in Hollywood was enhanced by philanthropy and activism.”

At the event, Meghan spoke about gender equality alongside tech entrepreneur Sheryl Sandberg and film director Maya Sanbar. This boost to her career also fueled rumors of a romantic relationship with Rory after they were seen dining at a high-end Dublin restaurant.

Meghan appeared “smitten” as she “gazed intensely” at Rory, while a source told Irish reporter Alexandra Ryan that they “sat beside each other looking very cosy and chatted all night.”

Bower alleges that Meghan’s friends in Ireland also “assumed” the pair had “met unseen, earlier during her visit.”

Chef boyfriend’s confrontations

However, Meghan had traveled to Dublin from Toronto with Cory, a trip that “some would suggest was paid for by Rory.”

Meghan described Cory as her “very favorite chef,” and they were together for two years before ending their relationship just two months prior to her blind date with Prince Harry.

But Meghan’s friendship with Rory reportedly caused tension early on in her relationship with Cory. Bower revealed that Cory asked Meghan in the summer of 2014 if she was “having a relationship” with the golf star.

Meghan reportedly “insisted their time together was innocent” and Cory “believed her.” However, reports of Meghan and Rory’s Dublin dinner allegedly “annoyed Cory” who “angrily” asked again if there “had been an affair.

“Emphatically, Meghan denied that she had betrayed Cory,” insisting they were “just friends,” wrote Bower. “Once more, he believed her.” The following day, Ryan penned an updated article portraying Cory and Meghan as “madly in love” and “sewn at the hip” throughout their entire stay in Ireland – much to Meghan’s “relief.” The golfer was not her future,” Bower observed.

Rory and Meghan’s fairy tale conclusions.

Following their alleged romantic connection, both Rory and Meghan discovered lasting love. Meghan notably married Prince Harry in May 2018 after they met through a blind date arrangement in 2016.

Meanwhile, Rory started a relationship with Erica Stoll in 2015, and the pair tied the knot in April 2017. Though they temporarily filed for divorce after seven years of marriage, they reunited just one month later. Rory and Erica are parents to a five-year-old daughter, Poppy.