Richard Hammond and his wife have announced their split after an “amazing 28 years together”. Best known for presenting on motoring shows Top Gear and The Grand Tour, the TV presenter tied the knot with newspaper columnist Amanda ‘Mindy’ Hammond in 2002.
The pair took to X (formerly known as Twitter), to share their statement with fans. They wrote: “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.”
They continued: “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.”
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Richard, 55, and Mindy share two daughters, Izzy and Willow, and the couple met in 1995. Richard hosts a podcast with 24-year-old Izzy called Who We Are Now, where the pair discuss what makes a modern man, mid-life crisis’, and how to raise daughters.
Writing in his book On The Edge: My Story, Richard revealed: “In an instant, I fell in love with her and realised I had met my soul-mate and best friend for life.”
The couple have decided to split -Credit:Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images
Only four years into their marriage, Richard was left comatose in hospital for two weeks after a devastating car crash in 2006. It happened during shooting for Top Gear, with the car flipping over at high speeds of 319mph and it nearly taking the star’s life.
Mindy nursed him back to health, but as he awoke from the coma he didn’t recognise her. Mindy later revealed: “It was disconcerting when, early after the crash, Richard looked at me from his hospital bed and said, ‘You’re lovely, but you’re not my wife.”
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Richard shared how the injury had affected his memory at the age of 54: “It did have a knock-on effect. I’ve discussed it since with my family. I’m 54 and my memory’s getting shaky.” He continued: “It helped humanise us beyond being car reporters.”