Richard Hammond's wife Amanda 'Mindy' Hammond once gave an insight into their festive traditions, years before spending their last Christmas as a married couple.
The former Top Gear presenter, 55, announced on Thursday that he has separated from his wife Mindy, 59, after almost three decades together. They announced that their marriage is "coming to end" in a joint statement on social media.
It was shared in the statement that the former couple spent Christmas together with their daughters Izzy Hammond, 23, and Willow Hammond, 21. They added that moving forward they will "still be a family but just structured a bit differently".
Richard and Mindy have given insights into their relationship over the years since they tied the knot in 2002. It included newspaper columnist Mindy opening up about their traditions for the festive period to the Express back in 2015.
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Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)At the time, she told the outlet that Christmas "never starts" for the family until Richard "stops work," which could include working away from home. She added that the tree wouldn't go up "until he's home," though admitted to doing "some secret prep". Mindy said that Richard "always" buys a tree that's "too big" from a tree farm in the local community.
Mindy went on to share in the interview: "Our decorations are things we've collected over the years including the girls' baby shoes, their first dummies and things they've made at school. Every year the girls can choose a new decoration for the tree so we have a lovely ramshackle mixture, which looks a bit bonkers but has sentimental meaning."
Discussing their usual schedule for Christmas Day, she said: "We all come downstairs and open our stockings over tea and toast. I time my break to run out to the stables and do the quickest muck-out I can do." She added about being in the kitchen ahead of the roast dinner: "The log fires will be going and I'll be playing some Nat King Cole or Dean Martin, and while I'm cooking everyone else will be drinking."
Mindy said: "If I'm super-organised, I'll have prepared the vegetables and laid the table on Christmas Eve, but I always find no matter how organised you think you are there's always a last-minute panic. One year I got the turkey out of the freezer too late and then on Christmas Eve I had to go and find another one."
Describing herself as a "terrible over-caterer," she told the outlet that she has to "tick every box" when it comes to cooking ingredients for the dinner. Mindy said: "I have to make cheesy leeks and bread sauce and cranberry sauce." And despite the family not having "any room left" for a Christmas pudding usually, she said: "After lunch Richard will still eat his weight in chocolate and Turkish Delight during a mixture of telly and board games."
Asked if Richard was romantic when it came to gifts, Mindy described her husband as "mostly just panicked". She however did recall that "the first enormous present" he got her had been "very romantic". She said: "He bought me my first horse because he knew it was my dream. It wasn't a surprise though."
This week, Richard announced their separation in a statement from himself and Mindy on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday afternoon. It began: "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 continued: "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."
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