RICHARD Hammond had been sleeping in a converted barn on his family’s castle estate after splitting from his wife.
The ex-Top Gear host announced he and Amanda “Mindy” are separating after 28 years together.
It is believed Mindy is asking to keep their £7million Bollitree Castle estate, in Herefordshire, as they draw up divorce settlements.
The Sun understands that newspaper columnist Mindy, 59, demanded the divorce after a source claimed she “wanted him gone”.
The news was shared by Grand Tour star Hammond, 55, on an X account shared by the pair.
The couple said: “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.”
It is believed Mindy is asking to keep their £7million Bollitree Castle estate, in Herefordshire, as they draw up divorce settlements.
The source told The Sun: “Richard is very upset about all this. It seems he has tried hard to rekindle the relationship but to no avail.
“There is no speculation that any third party is involved.”
Richard is understood to be currently staying at rented digs in a pretty village nearby where he runs his ‘Smallest Cog’ car restoration garage.
Prior to this, he is reported to have been sleeping in the converted barn.
Mindy is proposing Richard keeps their holiday home in Buttermere in the Lake District, and his flat in London, as part of their settlement agreement.
But she is also said to have asked for a share in their horses, and an annual stipend of £500,000.
Mindy has further requested a half share in his businesses; including the Smallest Cog and their TV production company Chimp Productions, of which she is a director.
The couple met in 1995 and Richard wrote previously in his autobiography, On The Edge: My Story: “In an instant, I fell in love with her and realised I had met my soul-mate and best friend for life.”
After they tied the knot in 2002, the pair snapped up a grade II listed Bollitree Castle in 2008.
It boasts six bedrooms, a swimming pool and 20 acres of land.
Despite Richard’s on screen presence, the pair have largely kept their relationship, and two daughters, out of the limelight.
Their eldest daughter Izzy, 24, works alongside her dad at his garage and the due record episodes for their podcast Who We Are Now.
Meanwhile, younger sister Willow, 22, is a keen horsewoman and lives separately, the source revealed.
It’s estimated their father, a former Top Gear legend alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May, has a net worth of around £70million.
Richard, known as ‘The Hamster’ on the show, has an impressive car collection including a Ford Mustang, Porsche, Lotus Esprit Sport and a 1931 Lagona, as well as a Bentley.
In 2009 he treated himself to a £150K helicopter that he used to commute to and from his £2.5m Herefordshire home.
He recently bought a £170,000 convertible Porsche 911 Turbo S with the personal plate DICK H which he shows off in his social media videos.
Richard found fame on local radio before landing the plum job on Top Gear and going on to present The Grand Tour on Amazon for a reported £7million salary.
He also presented Brainiac and Total Wipeout.
In 2006 he miraculously survived a 288mph crash in a jet-powered car while filming a segment for Top Gear.
He was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary’s neurological unit where he remained in a coma for two weeks.
It was touch and go on whether he would survive and Mindy revealed that he didn’t recognise her when he woke up.
Richard revealed that because of his brain injury he has suffered memory loss, depression and sometimes finds it hard to “connect emotionally”.
On June 10, 2017, Richard had to be airlifted to hospital after cheating death again in another crash in Switzerland while filming The Grand Tour.
He was driving a supercar worth £2million for the Amazon show when he lost control before it flipped and then burst into flames.
Luckily, Richard escaped with only a fractured knee.
By Summer Raemason
Richard was born in Birmingham in 1970 and studied photography, as well as television production.
He kickstarted his career in broadcasting at BBC Radio York.
This saw him land another role at BBC Radio Cumbria, Leeds and Lancashire, before he left in 1995 to follow his passion for cars.
He always dreamt of presenting motoring TV shows but initially took a job working in PR after leaving the BBC.
He was involved in corporate events for clients including the Ferrari Owners’ Club and Renault Sport.
In 1998 he earned his debut motoring TV job on, hosting Motorweek on Satellite channel Men & Motors.
This opened up many more avenues on screen and eventually he found his way to presenting Top Gear in 2002.
The household show garnered up to six million viewers at its peak.
While filming with Top Gear Richard crashed in a jet-powered traveling at over 300 mph.
The dad-of-two is one of the only people to have ever survived such a horror smash.
Hammond has also hosted science and nature programmes including Should I Worry About? on BBC One.
Other TV projects for the BBC included being the face of Battle of the Geeks, Time Commanders and featuring as a team captain on Petrol Heads.
He also presented ITV’s eponymous Richard Hammond’s Five O’Clock Show and Sky One’s Brainiac.
