Richard Hammond has revealed that despite losing his marriage, family home and a substantial amount of his fortune, he is the happiest he has been in years. In a new interview, the former Top Gear presenter, 56, discussed rebuilding his life after his divorce.
In January 2025, Richard announced that he had split from his wife, Mindy Hammond, after 23 years of marriage. Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Richard explained how he found unexpected happiness in a rented farmhouse after moving out of the family's home near Ross-on-Wye, in Herefordshire, following the split.
Reflecting on Loss and Finding Happiness
Reflecting on the loss he has endured, Richard told hosts Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes: "In the last two years I lost my father, my dog, my marriage, my house, most of the chunk of the money I earned from The Grand Tour."
"And I don't give a s***. The happiest I’ve been in years was living in a rented cottage, my divorce cottage."
Richard explained that he turned to a friend for somewhere to live after his marriage broke down. "I loved it. I rang a mate of mine who runs a big estate. Sometimes a chap needs to no longer live where he lives quite suddenly. He owns this huge estate and he said, ‘I’ve got just the place for you’," he continued.
Life in the Rented Farmhouse
"He rented me this beautiful tiny little farmhouse called Camp Farm, which caused some considerable amusement amongst my friends, obviously."
The property looked slightly different to the home he once shared with Mindy and their daughters, Izzy, 26, and Willow, 23. However, despite the drastic change and lack of furniture, Richard said he absolutely loved it.
"I lived there for like a year. I loved it. No furniture really to speak of, bits and pieces. Bit draughty in winter. But when friends came over, they came over to see me. Not the house, not the collection of cars – because that’d all gone," he told the hosts.
"I would cook a Sunday roast for like 14 of us and have to bring the outside table in and move all the furniture to get everyone in. And it was just, I loved it. Absolutely adored it. Very, very happy times."
Reflecting on Top Gear Exit
Richard also addressed Jeremy Clarkson's axe from Top Gear in 2015, admitting that while he and his co-star James May "could have got there" as a two, they made the right decision in leaving the programme.
Asked why he'd turned down the BBC's offer to stay on with editorial control, Richard said: "I was appreciative of what we had when we were together, all of us. I knew the audience was loyal to us; I knew we'd have had a pretty savage time going on without Jeremy, but we could have got there."
"But it only happened because we were all together; I'm not arrogant enough to think… I couldn't have done it all on my own. So, no, we had to stick together."
Richard became a household name alongside Jeremy, 66, and James, 63, when they began presenting the BBC motoring programme in 2002.
