Jeremy Clarkson's former mistress claims she 'suffered a breakdown' after splitting from him

Jeremy Clarkson’s former mistress has claimed she ‘suffered a breakdown’ after splitting from the ex-Top Gear host.

Phillipa Sage, 51, called the TV star, 61, the ‘love of her life’ and said their split was ‘the lowest point in her life’ as she spoke about their relationship for the first time. 

Jeremy was accused of having an affair with Phillipa in 2011 when he was still married to Frances Cain. The pair then divorced in 2014 and Jeremy continued to date Phillipa until 2017. 

Candid: Jeremy Clarkson’s former mistress Phillipa Sage has claimed she ‘suffered a breakdown’ after splitting from the ex-Top Gear host (pictured together in Australia in 2011) 

Phillipa said that the break up combined with her father becoming unwell and the fall out from Jeremy leaving Top Gear after an altercation with a producer lead to her breakdown.   

She told The Mirror: ‘We were all burned out and the stress of it all caused my worst breakdown ever. Truly the lowest point in my life. But it was to prove the glorious turning point.’

She added: ‘Jeremy was the love of my life and I thought it would be forever .’

A representative for Jeremy has been contacted by MailOnline for a comment.  

Complicated: Jeremy was accused of having an affair with Phillipa in 2011 when he was still married to Frances Cain (pictured with Francis) 

Jeremy was accused of having an affair with events organiser Phillipa while touring Australia, South Africa and Norway filming for Top Gear.

He was also seen kissing her while on holiday with her in Greece.   

Jeremy’s alleged affair with Phillipa – who worked alongside him on his hit BBC motoring show – first came to light in 2011. 

Jeremy and Frances tied the knot in 1993. Before that he married Alex Hall in 1989 but their relationship lasted just six months.

Upset: Phillipa who called the TV star, 61, the ‘love of her life’ said she thought the romance would ‘last forever’ (pictured with ex-wife Francis in 2010)

Phillipa’s comments come after after earlier this week Jeremy said he is worried he’ll die this year.

The TV presenter turned 61 in April, but is concerned he’ll follow in the footsteps of many of his friends and family who died at that age.

‘Everyone I know dies at 61. All my friends did, my dad did, that’s when you go. If I make it to 62, I’ll be here forever,’ Jeremy told Saga Magazine. ‘When dad died, I thought of him as an old man, but I don’t feel old.’  

His father, Edward Grenville Clarkson, died in 1994 at 61.

Exes: Jeremy and Frances tied the knot in 1993 (pictured in 2012). Before that he married Alex Hall in 1989 but their relationship lasted just six months

‘When I see myself on screen I think, “Who’s that?” I always expect a 19-year-old to be looking back at me. But old people don’t look like we think they should,’ the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host added. 

‘When my generation is in old people’s homes we’re not going to be dancing to Vera Lynn, it’ll be White Riot by The Clash.’ 

Jeremy suffered from COVID-19 over Christmas and feared that he would ‘die on my own’ from it.

The presenter wrote about his health scare in The Sunday Times, sharing that he began to feel unwell four days before Christmas. 

Clarkson said that after Googling his symptoms, he eventually got tested for coronavirus where it came back positive.   

‘The doctor was very clear,’ the presenter recalled in his column in January. ‘I’d feel under the weather for between five and 14 days and then I’d either get better or I’d have to go to hospital.

‘Where, because I am 60 and fat, and because I’ve smoked half a million cigarettes and had double pneumonia, I’d probably die, on my own, in a lonely plastic tent.’   

Pessimistic: It comes after earlier this week Jeremy said he is worried he’ll die this year after turning 61