Richard Hammond’s wife warned Top Gear star was on ‘last chance’ before split

Mindy Hammond warns Richard following recent crash

Richard Hammond was on his “last chance” in his marriage to Mindy before announcing their split this week.

On Thursday (January 9), Richard and Mindy released a joint statement, announcing they were separating after 28 years of marriage but would remain close while raising their daughters, Willow and Isabella.

But years before that, Mindy warned the ex-Top Gear star “three strikes and you’re out”, after he crashed his £2million car in Switzerland. The TV star was filming for The Grand Tour in 2017 when the car he was driving crashed, repeatedly flipping over before catching fire.

Richard thankfully managed to escape the vehicle, but it came after a 2006 crash left him fighting for his life with head injuries, leaving him in a coma.

Mindy rushed to be with her husband at his bedside in 2017, but admitted: “I did say three strikes and you’re out. You’ve had two goes.” His daughters told him: “Don’t crash again, will you?”

Mindy Hammond warned Richard was on his 'last chance' (Image: Getty)

Appearing on This Morning, Mindy said: “He has one of these every 10 years so I’ve marked the next one in my diary. I actually called Richard the day before which I don’t usually do, ever.

“Then the day of the accident I call him and he said he was fine but had a couple more runs to do. Then there was a phone call and he said, ‘I’ve had a bit of a shunt’. I did go quite a bit funny which I’ve never done before.”

Now the pair have confirmed their split, with Richard writing via X: “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.

Mindy was devastated after Richard's two crashes (Image: Getty)

“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.”