Boxer Amir Khan’s estranged wife threatened to “destroy him” as their marriage collapsed.

Friends of the star have revealed he was desperate to leave Faryal Makhdoom, 26, two years ago, telling them the pair were “living in hell.”

But they said she had vowed to ruin Amir by exposing the true extent of his hard-partying and womanizing ways.

And they claim he was so suffocated by the marriage that he turned to alcohol to cope.

One friend of the former Olympics star and ex-world light-welterweight champion told the Sun on Sunday: “Amir has wanted to leave Faryal for two years.

“But every time an argument blew up, she would tell him he was dreaming if he thought he could divorce her — it would be her divorcing him because she had so much dirt on him.

“She said divorce could destroy him and leave his reputation in tatters. He would lose his money, sponsors, his fan base, everything.

“And she would tell him this in front of his friends.

“He was in a bad place and began drinking heavily to cope with the stress.

“He drinks the hard stuff — vodka, Johnny Walker — and sometimes drank all day.

“Eventually he snapped. He told her, ‘F–k it, I’m done with you. I don’t give a damn. I’d rather have my peace of mind.’”

The claims come after Khan announced the marriage split on Twitter, sparking a vicious war of words with her.

He accused her of “moving on quick” with heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua.

Faryal denied the claims and Joshua, 27, also has denied any relationship with her.

The couple, who have a 2-year-old daughter, married in 2013 at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel.

But friends claim he regrets going through with the marriage.

One said: “He almost called it off because Faryal and her mother kicked up a huge storm over his team’s demand that she sign a pre-nup. Eventually she agreed but it created a rift between the families.”

After the pair wed, notorious lothario Khan publicly promised he was ready to settle down.

But stories of his alleged infidelity, including a night with a model in 2014, continued and drove them further apart.

The friend added: “No one is saying Amir has been an angel.

“He is a lovely guy but loves partying hard, drinking, smoking sheesha and going out with beautiful women.

“Faryal began playing private detective and started building up ammunition against him.

“The thought of details about his drinking and womanising becoming public through a divorce remained a crushing one for him.

“He felt trapped by her. And it has taken until now for him to break free.”