Richard Hammond’s wife Mindy teased hubby over lack of ‘romantic trips’ before split

Amanda “Mindy” Hammond, Richard Hammond’s wife, once teased the couple for not taking romantic trips together.

It was announced on Thursday that the former Top Gear presenter, 55, has split from his wife Mindy, 59, after 28 years together. In a joint statement, the former couple said their union was “going to end.”

The former couple, who have been married since 2002, are parents to daughters Izzy Hammond, 23, and Willow Hammond, 21, together. They stated that they would continue to be a “family” in a statement shared by Richard on X.

Over the years, Richard and Mindy have provided insight into their relationship. It includes discussing the effects of a car crash he was involved in while filming a BBC motoring show in 2006 that left him hospital for two weeks.

And opening up about their relationship in a column for the Express in 2017, Mindy teased that they rarely took “romantic mini-breaks” together. She and Richard had recently gotten together as a “liaison” in France, and she wrote about their experience while discussing how their children were raised in the UK while their children persisted.

Mindy wrote: “Doesn’t that sound romantic? Don’t get too excited, dear reader. We have managed exactly two “romantic mini-breaks” in our 22 years of dating, one of which was our first year camping in Buttermere and awakening to soggy bottoms and four inches of water, and the other of which was a quick trip to Rome when we both found ourselves nodding off after lunch and missing the majority of our sightseeing time.

She went on to suggest that their trip to France would not fall into the “romantic mini-break” catergory, as it was “a fact-finding mission”. Mindy revealed that they were considering purchasing a home there after years of taking vacations there, taking the opportunity to see potential properties while there. Later, Mindy claimed that they were both interested in a particular home.

At the conclusion of the 2017 column, Mindy continued, “If nothing else, it encouraged us to enjoy the process of looking and so many excuses for a mini-break. Eventually, I’m sure I’ll be able to sneak in a bit of romance, too”.

In an interview with the Telegraph last year, Richard suggested that his preference for “grand romantic gestures” wasn’t present in their relationship more recently. Asked about the recipe to a successful marriage, he said: “Stay connected”.

The former Grand Tour host said that it’s about the “small times”, adding: “It’s not the big family holidays or 21st birthday parties or remembering your anniversaries, or treating yourself to a night in a hotel”. Richard instead said that it’s going to the supermarket, for example, before sharing: “Stay connected at that level, know what’s in the fridge, know what cleaning products you use in the house, stay connected to that”.

On Thursday afternoon, Richard and Mindy left a statement to himself and his followers on X, the old Twitter, to announce their separation. After spending Christmas together as a family, the pair described it as a “little update.”

A little update from us: We spent Christmas together as a family, and we’ll still be doing this year, just structured a little differently. Our marriage is coming to end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters. We are proud of the family we created and we will always be a part of one another’s lives. We won’t be commenting further, but we 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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Source: Mirror