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

Former Top Gear host Richard Hammond announced on Thursday that he's separated from his wife Mindy Hammond, who once spoke about their lack of 'romantic min-breaks'

Richard Hammond's wife Amanda 'Mindy' Hammond once teased that the couple did not enjoy romantic getaways together.

It was announced on Thursday that the former Top Gear presenter, 55, has split from his wife Mindy, 59, after 28 years together. The former couple issued a joint statement in which they announced their marriage "is coming to end".

The former couple, who have been married since 2002, are parents to daughters Izzy Hammond, 23, and Willow Hammond, 21, together. They said in the statement shared by Richard on X that they will "still be a family".

Richard and Mindy have given insights into their relationship over the years. It's included discussing the impact of a car crash that he was involved in whilst filming the BBC motoring show in 2006, which left him in 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 wrote about their experience whilst discussing having recently enjoyed a "liaison" together in France, with her flying out to meet Richard, who had been working in Spain, whilst their kids remained in the UK.

Mindy wrote: "Doesn't that sound romantic? Don't get too excited, dear reader. In our 22 years together we have managed precisely two 'romantic mini-breaks' - one in the first year of our relationship when we camped in Buttermere and woke to soggy bottoms and four inches of water and the other a quick trip to Rome a couple of years ago when we were both so exhausted we found ourselves nodding off after lunch and missing most 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 after years of holidaying in the country, they were considering buying a place there - with them visiting potential properties on the trip. Mindy later wrote that one house they visited did interest them.

Mindy went on to tease at the end of the column in 2017: "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."

Discussing their relationship more recently, Richard suggested in an interview with the Telegraph last year that 'grand romantic gestures' wasn't his style. 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."

Richard announced their separation in a statement from himself and Mindy with his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday afternoon. It was described as a "little update" from the pair after having spent Christmas together as a family.

The statement read: "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."

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.