Top Gear star Richard Hammond announces split from wife after nearly three decades together

Richard Hammond and Mindy Hammond attend the Headline Gala Screening of 20th Century Studios "The Bikeriders" on October 5, 2023 in London, England. Photo / Getty Images

Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has announced he and his wife have separated after almost three decades together.

The English journalist and television presenter, 55, and Amanda “Mindy” Hammond first started dating in 1997 after meeting at a London PR firm. They married in May 2002 and share two daughters: Isabella, 24, and Willow, 22.

In a statement released to their joint X account today, the pair confirmed they had called time on their 28-year relationship.

“A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently,” the statement read.

“Our marriage is coming to end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters.

“We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created.

“We won’t be commenting further and sincerely hope that our privacy and that of our children will be respected at this time. With Love, Richard and Mindy.”

A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently.
 
Our marriage is coming to end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters.
 
We will always be in…

— Richard Hammond (@RichardHammond) January 9, 2025

According to media, The Grand Tour star had been sleeping in a converted barn on the family’s 15th century Bollitree Castle estate in Herefordshire, which they purchased for a reported £2 million ($4.4m): differing reports claim the estate was purchased in either 2008 or 2012.

It is believed Mindy is asking to maintain the residence as divorce settlements are drawn up.

“Richard is very upset about all this. It seems he has tried hard to rekindle the relationship but to no avail,” a source told British tabloid the Sun.

“There is no speculation that any third party is involved.”

It is understood Hammond is currently staying at a rented property in a nearby village, which is also home to his car restoration garage, the Smallest Cog.

According to The Sun, the settlement agreement will propose Hammond maintains ownership of their Lake District holiday home and his apartment in London.

Mindy has also requested a share in their horses, a yearly stipend of £500,000, and a half share in his businesses, including the Smallest Cog and their joint TV production company Chimp Productions, of which she is the director. Hammond has a reported net worth of £37 million.

The couple first met in 1995, with Hammond writing in his 2007 autobiography On The Edge: My Story that he fell for Mindy “in an instant”.

“I fell in love with her and realised I had met my soulmate and best friend for life.”

Hammond rose to prominence as one of the original hosts of the revived British automotive TV programme, Top Gear. The revitalised edition of the show, which ran from 2002 to 2022, was based on an earlier incarnation of the same name which ran from 1977 to 2001.

Hammond, creator Jeremy Clarkson and fellow presenter James May (who joined in their second series) became household names as Top Gear’s dynamic trio. The three hosted the show until 2015, when the BBC decided not to renew Clarkson’s contract following an incident during filming. In solidarity with Clarkson, Hammond and May also departed.

Richard Hammond (left) with Jeremy Clarkson (middle) and James May (right) in a scene from The Grand Tour. Photo / Warner Bros

The trio presented the Amazon motoring series The Grand Tour from 2016 to 2024, with Hammond earning a reported £7m salary.

As well as Top Gear, Hammond has presented shows including Total Wipeout and Brainiac: Science Abuse.

The 55-year-old has cheated death twice. While filming a Top Gear segment in September 2006, Hammond was seriously injured when the Vampire Dragster jet-propelled car he was piloting crashed at 463km/h.

Hammond was placed in a medically induced coma for two weeks. Following the crash, he said he suffered with long-term memory loss and can find it hard to “connect emotionally”.

In June 2017, Hammond was hospitalised after crashing a Rimac supercar in Switzerland while filming for The Grand Tour. Despite the car flipping and bursting into flames, Hammond only suffered a fractured knee.