Richard Hammond has candidly opened up about the breakdown of his 23-year marriage to wife Mindy and the death of his father, Alan

Richard Hammond has addressed his divorce (Image: Getty)

It’s been a traumatic year for former Top Gear host Richard Hammond, who sadly lost his father, Alan, in February, and he announced he was splitting up with his wife Mindy in January. The couple, who have been together for 28 years and married for 23, insisted no one else was involved when they announced they were divorcing eight months ago.

They said in a joint statement: “Our marriage is coming to an 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.”

The 55-year-old presenter has now addressed the breakdown of his marriage in the first episode of the new series of Richard Hammond’s Workshop. “Let’s get something out of the way straight away,” he explained to those watching the show. “There has been a slight change in my circumstances recently. I got divorced. Which means I now live here.

Richard pictured with his ex-wife Mindy in recent years (Image: Getty)

“I like it. It’s got amazing views, a place to keep some of my cars and bikes and best of all it’s closer to the workshop. I’m trying to put a silver lining on this. It’s been a tough few years, but it’s not all bad.”

When the news of their split broke, they said on social media: “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 an 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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Richard also spoke openly about the agonising grief he experienced following the death of his father on his podcast earlier this year.

He told listeners: “I’ve noticed that since we lost my dad, I don’t wander around daily in a cloud of… There was tremendous grief, of course, there was, he was my dad, but it’s kind of in the background.”

“And when it hits me, when I’m pottering about doing something, often inconsequential, or thinking about something big, my brain has already formed the thought, “Oh, I must tell Dad.”

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