Richard Hammond and his wife Mindy have announced their split after 28 years together.
The Grand Tour and Top Gear star took to X to share a statement from the pair today (9 January), explaining they will ‘always be in each other’s lives’ and asked for privacy.
Richard and Amanda (‘Mindy’) married back in 2002 and share two daughters together, Izzy, 24, and Willow, 22.
“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 TV presenter and columnist couple wrote.
The couple have been together for 28 years. (Dave Benett/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)
“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.”
The family live in an impressive mock castle out in Herefordshire and also have an apartment in London. It’s also rumoured that the TV host bought a large place in Oxfordshire.
Fans may remember the Hammonds adopted the official Top Gear dog back in the day, a labradoodle named TG, after it became clear it was afraid of cars.
The couple share two daughters. (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Longines)
A source told The Sun of the split after nearly three decades: “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.”
It has also been speculated that Mindy ‘demanded’ the split and ‘wanted him gone’. No reason however has been given by the couple for their separation.
After being on our screens for quite some time, Hammond’s long-running time as a trio with James May and Jeremy Clarkson came to an end last year.
The stars had spent 22 years working together across Top Gear and The Grand Tour before the Amazon Prime finale aired and they confirmed on their press tour that it was the end of their time on TV as we know it.
When asked if he would miss working on the show with his co-stars, Hammond said: “Yeah absolutely, but we wanted to end it at a time, place and in a manner of our choosing and that’s what we’ve done.”
Richard Hammond said he feels ‘bad’ over the treatment of James May as their famous trio with Jeremy Clarkson comes to an ‘end’ after 21 years.
The three stars of course are best known for presenting Top Gear before moving over to The Grand Tour.
And with one last episode of the Prime Video motoring show set to come to our screens, it’s been reported that Clarkson, Hammond and May have dissolved their production company.
They’ve been working together on their series The Grand Tour since 2016, having presented Top Gear together since 2003.
However, MailOnline reports they dissolved their production company with producer Andy Wilman, W Chump and Sons on 11 June.
The group’s application was made to Companies House, the official governmental body that approves startups and new business ventures as well as the dissolution of companies.
So, with the production company gone, it means that this last Grand Tour episode could be the final time we see the trio together on our screens.
And May previously told UNILAD he thinks they ‘should let it lie’ as a trio but there could be the odd little reunion in future.
The Grand Tour is coming to an end. (Prime Video)
Either way, whether you love them or hate them, most of us have grown up seeing the three blokes on telly, doing wild challenges, chatting about cars, and often taking the p**s out of each other.
Well, let’s be honest, May did sometimes seem to be at the receiving end of many of the jokes made by the other two.
During a previous episode of the Who We Are Now podcast, Hammond chatted to anxiety expert Josh Fletcher about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
He admitted that while working together, he’d make light of OCD at May’s expense.
The NHS describes the mental health condition as when a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.
Hammond feels bad about it all. (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“We used to… and I’m feeling bad about it talking to you now, Josh, because I’m thinking, ‘Wait a minute – we were part of that’ – making light of what is, for some people, a really, really serious condition. We used to hit James with it all the time,” Hammond admitted.
Hammond and Clarkson used to call May ‘Mr OCD’ on Top Gear, though May has never said if he’s been diagnosed with the condition.
The star went on to recall an off-set prank he played on his co-host.
“If you stand next to James and this watch that I’m wearing has a bezel on it; you know, a bit around the edge. And if I put it so it doesn’t line up straight, and he and I used to sit (we had a lot of time to sit in cars being bored),” he said.
“And I deliberately set it like that. The only thing is I’ve set it out of kilter now, and it’s slightly annoying me, but I can then straighten it up and I’m happy, so that isn’t OCD, is it, because it hasn’t triggered any…? I’m not left unhappy.”
James May’s comments about working in the iconic trio of Clarkson, Hammond and himself have resurfaced after news of the three essentially breaking up broke this week.
Best known for their time on BBC motoring show Top Gear, and later Prime Video’s The Grand Tour, it has been reported that the group have dissolved their production company.
It’s a truly sad day for British TV, as arguably the most iconic trio this century has seen are coming to end, as one last episode of The Grand Tour is set to come to our screens sometime soon.
Clarkson, Hammond and May have been goofing around with hilarious challenges involving budget vehicles and thrashing supercars around race tracks since 2003.
After Clarkson was sacked by the BBC in 2015, the trio migrated to Amazon Prime Video, where they have continued to make entertaining car-related content for us all.
The group are known for their chemistry and banter with one another, with many people watching their shows despite not having an interest in cars.
Nowadays, each of the presenters are doing their own things to great success, though Clarkson’s Farm by far and away takes the cake as the big success story from the three.
The famous trio may not be on screen together again. (Jeff Spicer/WireImage)
But according to the MailOnline, the presenters have dissolved their production company with producer Andy Wilman, W Chump and Sons, on 11 June.
Their application was made to Companies House, the official governmental body that approves startups and new business ventures, as well as the dissolution of companies.
So, this all means that the final pending Grand Tour episode will likely be the last time we see the famous trio together.
In an interview with UNILAD, May had previously revealed why he thinks the chapter on working with Clarkson and Hammond has closed for good.
Clarkson, May and Hammond became the famous trio we know and love today through Top Gear. (Wayne Coetzee/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
The 61-year-old explained: “I think people would only really like us doing cars, despite what some people say – ‘Oh, I think you should all go off and do cooking or you should all go and do a podcast about nothing’.
“But I don’t think so, I think we should let it lie, what we did.”
However, he did leave the door cracked open for a reunion in the future, adding: “I’m sure there will be something, but it won’t be as big as [The Grand Tour] and I don’t need it to be. I’ve done that.”
So I guess we might see them together in the distant future but as far as a regular programme done by the three goes, it looks like they’re done, 21 years later.
Richard Hammond has opened up about ‘the end’ of The Grand Tour as he waves goodbye to his fellow ‘musketeers’ James May and Jeremy Clarkson.
The 54-year-old, who first joined Clarkson, 64, on Top Gear back in 2002, has lifted the lid on ending his involvement in the long-running motoring series.
Amazon has confirmed that The Grand Tour will be coming to an end, with one final adventure next month.
You can take a look at the teaser below:
In the new trailer, Clarkson says to the camera “For the last time, here we go,” as the trio head to o Zimbabwe in three cars they’ve always wanted to own, a Lancia Montecarlo, a Ford Capri 3-litre, and a Triumph Stag.
Prime Video called it ‘an emotional ending on a strangely familiar island’.
Fans were left in tears after watching the teaser, as one person commented: “I’m actually gonna cry throughout this episode.”
A second added: “And so, The 3 Wise Men have reached the end of their journey. Thanks for everything chaps.”
In the finale, the trio will drive cars they have always wanted to own. (Amazon Prime Video)
While a third penned: “I’ll miss them for sure, but I’m grateful for the many, many laughs we’ve had along the way. Old Top Gear and The Grand Tour will forever be my default comfort show.”
Meanwhile, Hammond has revealed the real reason why the three motor heads will be parting ways after the upcoming finale.
In an interview on Heart Radio, he was asked by co-host Zoe Hardman why the show is ending, as Hammond replied: “Because we’ve been doing it for 136 years. It’s going to be later this year, it will be formally announced and we’ll come and talk about it.”
Fellow co-host Jamie Theakston, who described it as ‘the end of an era’, also asked Hammond if he would miss it, to which he said: “Yeah absolutely, but we wanted to end it at a time, place and in a manner of our choosing and that’s what we’ve done.”
Earlier this year, Clarkson admitted that The Grand Tour is very much staged, unlike his popular Prime series Clarkson’s Farm.
“I don’t have time to pretend to be someone else. You see, The Grand Tour, Richard Hammond isn’t as stupid as he’s made out,” he said.
“I’m not as bombastic as it’s made out, and James May isn’t quite as boring as is made out.
“And so you’re playing a caricature, you’re playing a role, you know, you’re there to provoke, you know, be stupid.”
James May has revealed his hopes of reuniting with Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson, just months after The Grand Tour ended.
The Amazon Prime Video show came to an end earlier this year, with the trio saying an emotional goodbye after 22 years of working together.
All three have their own projects going on, with Clarkson busy at his Diddly Squat Farm and May‘s new show, James May and The Dull Men’s Club.
Meanwhile, Hammond has been busy running The Smallest Cog, a car restoration service based in Hereford.
Despite all this, May has said he hopes it’s not the end for the trio, although he has said their next reunion will be more relaxed.
“I’ve spoken to them a few times and I suspect we’ll go out for a beer somewhere,” he told Times Radio.
“Just because we can, not because we have to come up with some gags, plan a road trip or choose some cars, but for the hell of it. It’d be quite interesting.
The Grand Tour came to an end earlier this year (Prime Video)
May has also previously spoken about his lack of emotion when the trio parted ways earlier this year.
“Nothing will ever be as big as Top Gear and The Grand Tour were, so I’m not full of woe and regret,” he said.
“It was time to stop. We are all getting quite old. One or two of us are on the brink of death, and I hope we left on a high note with people wanting more because that’s what you’re supposed to do in show business.”
The trio have been working together for 22 years (Wayne Coetzee/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
It’s something Clarkson has also spoken about previously, explaining he was surprisingly unemotional about the end of the show, as was May.
He told PA: “I’m not saying this in a derogatory way by any means but James has the emotions of a stone.
“He just doesn’t do emotions, so there were no tears from him. Hammond, yes.
“I was surprisingly unemotional in a weird way because I can see James and Hammond any time I want to, they’re only a phone call away, and I’m sure we will.
“And I’ve done enough of the travel, I was worn out by it.
“I’m 100% convinced I would have been a lot more emotional without the farm show.”
Meanwhile, when asked in the past about why the trio was coming to an end, Hammond candidly told Heart Radio: “Because we’ve been doing it for 136 years.”
