Rory McIlroy has revealed that he and wife Erica binged the raunchy Netflix show Bridgerton around his Masters glory at Augusta last month.
The Northern Irishman became just the sixth player in the history of golf to win the career grand slam when he beat Justin Rose in a playoff that gripped the sporting world.
McIlroy had scar tissue at Augusta, having infamously thrown away a four-shot lead in 2011 and many wondered if he would ever conquer one of golf’s most prestigious courses.
He told Jimmy Fallon that thanks to his wife Erica, help with switching off from the pressure between four career-defining rounds came from an unexpected place.
‘I think, the week of the Masters, for me I am trying to distract myself with doing anything,’ McIlroy said to Fallon while wearing his green jacket.
‘I am trying not to watch coverage of the tournament. So I’m trying not to watch anything about the golf, I’m trying not to even – you try to even avoid sports. You try to just not look at the sports news.
Rory McIlroy poses with wife Erica and daughte Poppy after winning the Masters in April
McIlroy told Jimmy Fallon that he and Erica binged Bridgerton between rounds at the Masters
‘So like, read a book, watch a show, watch a movie.’
Fallon interjected to ask McIlroy what shows he watched in his downtime at Augusta.
‘So I was watching Bridgerton, with my wife,’ McIroy said, prompting laughs from Fallon and the audience.
‘Which was her decision! But I actually got into it. It was good! And then on the Saturday, you don’t tee off until pretty late… so you’ve get this dead time in the morning. On the Saturday I watched ‘Zootopia’ with my daughter.’
Bridgerton is renowned for its raunchy sex scenes across its three series – earning the nickname ‘Bonkerton’ – hence the reaction from Fallon’s audience to McIlroy’s surprise admission.
It is almost a year exactly that the 35-year-old filed for divorce from Erica, 37.
On May 13, 2024 a divorce petition was filed in Florida but a month later, he said that he had solved his differences with his wife of seven years.
‘There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate,’ McIlroy said.
It’s almost exactly a year since McIlroy filed for divorce from his wife Erica in Florida
But a month later, McIlroy withdrew his file and said he and Erica resolved their differences
‘Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game. Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together.
‘Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.’
The next Major on the golfing calendar is only weeks away.
McIlroy will be competing at the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina from May 15-18, a course he has enjoyed immense success on in the past.
He just needs Erica to sort another TV series for that week.
