AMANDA “Mindy” Hammond and Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond have called it quits after 28 years together.
According to a source, newspaper columnist Mindy has reportedly had enough and is now demanding a divorce, saying she “wants him gone,” The Sun reveals. So who is Mindy Hammond?
Who is Richard Hammond’s wife, Mindy?
Mindy was a columnist for the Daily Express, writing articles about her life.
She has covered topics from life during the Covid-19 lockdown to giving her dog a haircut.
Richard married Mindy in 2002, but they had been inseparable from the moment they met each other in 1995.
Sadly, in January 2025, Richard announced that they had split after twenty years of marriage.
She is reportedly asking to keep the £7million Bollitree Castle estate as part of their split settlement.
The source said: “Richard is very upset about all this. It seems he has tried hard to rekindle the relationship but to no avail.
“There is no speculation that any third party is involved.”
The couple said: “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 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.”
Richard and Mindy’s love story
In his book On The Edge: My Story, Richard had revealed there was an instant attraction between the couple.
He wrote: “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 been through a lot together, including Richard’s horror car crash in 2006.
Richard had been racing at 288mph when the car flipped over at an RAF base in York, whilst the TV star was filming for Top Gear.
He spent two horrifying weeks in a coma, while his wife and the hospital nurses tried desperately to wake him.
Mindy told The Telegraph: “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’.
“When I corrected him, he responded, ‘No, you’re not my wife, my wife is French’.
“Indeed, when he was allowed home five weeks later, it became clear that Richard’s memory loss was no short-term affliction.”
Richard recovered his memory of his wife, but still has struggles with his short-term memory.
He has sworn off dangerous stunts, because he doesn’t want to risk never seeing his wife and two daughters Isabelle and Willow again.
The writer has had a few scrapes of her own, as she recalled her family’s fear that they may have been gassed and robbed in San Tropez.
She told the story of how they had woken one morning to find their belongings missing, but hadn’t heard the late-night robbery.
Mother of two
Mindy has two daughters with Richard, with their first being born just before they got married.
Isabella was born in 2001, and Willow arrived in 2004.
For most of their lives they’ve been carefully kept out of the public eye by their parents.
However, Izzy and her dad now have a podcast together entitled Who We Are Now.
The show focuses on men’s mental health issues and how being more open with feelings can prevent problems building up.
Izzy and Richard appeared on Lorraine to talk about their podcast and Richard’s 2006 crash.
