Paul Hollywood’s estranged wife Alex is gearing up to claim half of the celebrity baker’s reported £10million fortune in the divorce courts.
Mediation between the couple over how to divide their assets has failed – so they now face a warts-and-all showdown where details of their wealth will come under the microscope.
In August last year Mrs Hollywood cited ‘adultery’ as the reason for the breakdown of their 20-year marriage.
Celebrity baker Paul Hollywood, pictured with his estranged wife Alex, right, is set to lose £5m in a divorce settlement following their split
Hollywood and his wife and son moved into this £2.5 million house in Kent shortly before they stpilt up
The Great British Bake Off judge, 53, and his 24-year-old girlfriend Summer Monteys- Fullam have denied they were an item before the marriage ended, and it is understood that he has formally denied adultery as grounds for divorce.
Legal sources indicate that the issue of why the marriage broke down will have no bearing on the size of the eventual settlement, however.
This will start from a principle of a 50/50 division of marital assets which include everything from property to his businesses and pensions – and any of Mrs Hollywood’s earnings and contributions.
Hollywood himself has just signed a new £2million, two-year deal to continue presenting Bake Off on Channel 4, and has a range of baking mixes and icings, plus income from his many successful cookbooks.
There is also the large £2.5million Kent house that he and his wife moved into only a few months before the split, where she now lives with their son Josh, 17, and their labrador.
Although a court date has not yet been set, it seems that it will happen over the next few weeks. Legal fees are said to already extend well into six figures.
While 90 per cent of divorces are settled without going to court, sources close to the negotiations say that this split was ‘only ever’ going to end in court.
They also say Mrs Hollywood is looking forward to having her say about the end of the marriage and her estranged husband’s wealth.
Hollywood, pictured, is now in a relationship with 24-year-old Summer Monteys-Fullam
Hollywood is expected to attend any hearing – possibly supported by Miss Monteys-Fullam.
The former barmaid is a keen equestrian and owns four horses, two of which were reportedly gifts from Hollywood. Indeed, last week he uploaded a photograph of himself looking somewhat nervous astride a black horse on Instagram.
The couple have recently moved into a £1.3million Kent
