Paul Hollywood’s split from his wife is set to cost him up to half his £10 million fortune.
His wealth has risen dramatically in the last few years thanks to the phenomenal popularity of the Great British Bake Off.
But the end of his near 20-year marriage to wife Alexandra will put a squeeze on his cash.
Alexandra is currently living in the couple’s £1.4million farmhouse in the Kent countryside and security say the TV star is not at home.
It came as the woman Hollywood had an affair with in the US, Marcela Valladolid, was spotted out for the first time since the split was announced.
Alex Hollywood’s wife Alexandra (pictured together on holiday in Cyprus) could get half of his £10million fortune as part of any divorce deal, lawyers have said
Marcela Valladolid, who had an affair with the Bake Off star during his time in the US, was seen out last night for the first time since the news emerged of his split
She stood alongside her fiance Philip D. Button at a cookery event in West Hollywood
Marcela, an American TV chef and cookery author, has found love again since her affair with Hollywood.
The mother-of-three, from San Diego, California, is now engaged to fiance Philip D. Button, who she stood alongside last night.
She didn’t comment on Hollywood’s marriage trouble as, dressed in mini-dress, knee-high boots and a double breasted blazer, she appeared at a cookery workshop in West Hollywood, California last night.
The pop-up event, organised by Google, was briefly disrupted when one audience member felt faint and was stretchered out of the event into a waiting ambulance, but otherwise went without a hitch.
Master baker Hollywood has built up his massive fortune thanks to several television and book deals.
The 51-year-old earned an estimated £200,000 for each GBBO series at the BBC and has doubled his money now the show has moved to Channel 4.
Hollywood has nearly £8.8million of assets in the company HJP Media LLP and £1.2million in another company called Paul Hollywood Limited.
The divorced mother-of-three, who is a famous chef in the US, has moved on since her fling with Hollywood and found a new partner
She was at a cookery workshop organised by Google shortly after Hollywood’s split emerged
Hollywood with Marcela with whom he had an affair while working on the US version of Bake Off
Hollywood, 51, and Valladolid, 39 (pictured) admitted having an affair in 2013. The British baker later described it as ‘the biggest mistake of my life’
Solicitor Harold Walker – who deals with high-value break-ups – revealed: ‘The starting point will be a 50:50 division of all assets.
‘It doesn’t matter if his business interests and investments are in sole name or not. They are part of a portfolio built up within a marriage and so his spouse is entitled to share of the spoils.’
Sources close to the couple say the marriage has struggled to cope with Paul’s wandering eye after his fame increased – including an affair while working in the US.
And pals say the marriage has been secretly finished for some time.
A family member told MailOnline: ‘We are all very sad that this has happened, particularly at this time of year.
‘Our thought are very much with Alex and son Joshua at the moment. It is a very difficult time particularly with Christmas approaching.”
The couple (pictured on holiday in Cyprus last year) are separating after nearly 20 years of marriage, they have said in a joint statement
The now-separated couple are pictured kissing at the National Television Awards in 2015
Alexandra is understood to be living in the couple’s £1.4million house in the Kent countryside
In their full statement the couple vowed to focus on the wellbeing of their teenage son Josh, 14 – but did not say whether any third parties had been a factor in the marriage breakdown.
Paul and Alexandra, also a chef, married in 1998, but previously separated in 2013 when he admitted to having an affair with his sexy co-star on the US version of Bake Off Marcela Valladolid, then 35.
They reconciled a few months later and he described the incident as ‘the biggest mistake of my life’ in an interview at the time.
But industry insiders revealed he had fully intended to start a new life with Marcella – until she pulled the plug on their fling.
Happier times: Paul and Alexandra Hollywood are pictured on holiday before his fame
Hollywood is pictured in 2000 when he filmed an ITV documentary called The History of Bread
And he raised eyebrows by appearing at the recent Pride of Britain awards with ex-Bake Off winner Candice Brown.
Hollywood and his wife said in a joint statement yesterday: ‘It is with sadness that we have decided to separate.
‘Our focus continues to be the happiness of our son, and we would ask the press and public to allow us privacy as a family during this very difficult time.’
Born in Merseyside in March 1966, Hollywood has followed the family baking tradition.
With a grandfather who was head baker at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, a young Hollywood worked at his father’s bakery in York.
Inspired by the hard-won success of his father, who had a chain of bakeries, he later became a baker at hotels around Britain including the Dorchester in London.
Hollywood and newly-engaged baker Candice Brown were spotted locking lips after the Pride of Britain Awards earlier this month. They insisted it was a ‘goodbye peck’
A spokesman for the pair insisted it was a ‘goodbye peck’ and it was inaccurate to describe the moment as an ‘intimate kiss’
Hollywood also worked at resorts in Cyprus, and stayed there for six years after falling in love with both the island and future wife Alexandra.
In 1999, after returning to the UK, he co-hosted digital channel Taste’s Use Your Loaf alongside TV chef James Martin, who went on to present Saturday Kitchen.
Hollywood also gained a reputation as an authority on bread making with his best-selling cookery book 100 Great Breads.
Bake Off winner Candice Brown is pictured today leaving training for Dancing On Ice
But despite his TV appearance Hollywood was still a relative unknown.
That all changed in 2010 when the launch of the Great British Bake Off made him a household name.
The show became a national favourite and Hollywood’s chemistry with Mary Berry was seen as one of the main reasons for its success.
On the back of this, he set out to conquer the US with The American Baking Competition – with Marcela Valladolid at his side as co-judge.
However, the show was cancelled after one series and also led to marriage trouble for Hollywood, after he embarked on an alleged affair with Valladolid.
Hollywood was the only member of the original line-up of Bake Off to jump ship with the show to Channel 4, saying: ‘I just couldn’t turn my back on all that.’
He was lured to its new home by a reported £1.2million three-year pay deal.