Richard Hammond was still wearing his wedding ring as he returned to work on Wednesday, but almost never made it after locking himself out of his current home.
Hammond confirmed his separation from wife Mindy after 28-years of marriage in January, amid claims his family had become exasperated with his constant travelling and risky stunts on Amazon Prime show The Grand Tour.
Sources claim he initially left the home – £7million Bollitree Castle in Hertfordshire – and relocated to an adjacent barn on the property, lovingly converted by the presenter into a glorified man cave.
Hammond, 55, is now thought to be renting a property in a nearby village, where he runs his ‘Smallest Cog’ car restoration garage.
Sharing his latest Drivetribe video instalment with YouTube followers on Wednesday, the presenter admitted his day got off to a bad start after he shut himself out.
‘I’m late because I locked myself of the house,’ he explained. ‘I’m actually getting ready this afternoon to go to the Lake District, I’ve got everything packed and ready, and then I thought I’ll go and empty the bins.
Richard Hammond was still wearing his wedding ring as he returned to work on Wednesday, but almost never made it after locking himself out of his current home
Hammond confirmed his separation from wife Mindy after 28-years of marriage in January, amid claims his family had become exasperated with his constant travelling and risky stunts
‘So I took the kitchen bin out the front door – I never lock anything – but it’s a Yale lock, and the door stuck. I was stood outside, I was in my Crocs, I was in my dressing gown. I didn’t have my phone, the keys, anything.
‘It was quite panicky, and I thought what do I do now? I thought about crying, but then I thought that won’t help. I felt about ten.’
The presenter eventually attempted to smash a window with a stray brick, only for it to bounce harmlessly off the glass.
‘I don’t know how burglars make a living,’ he added. ‘I do not know. So in the end, I had to phone a locksmith, who got in in five seconds
‘So in short, I’m late because I’m an idiot.’
Reports have already emerged that Mindy, 59 – who previously branded him a ‘nine year old boy’ – wants to keep the Herefordshire castle they once shared in their impending divorce.
The former couple bought the castle in 2008 and Hammond subsequently spent 15 years restoring a listed granary barn on the grounds into his dream ‘clubhouse’.
In 2024, Richard hinted at tensions in the marriage when he gave fans a tour and admitted he had broken her one golden rule – not having his prized motorbike collection displayed in the space.
Sources claim he initially left the home – £7million Bollitree Castle in Hertfordshire – and relocated to an adjacent barn on the property, lovingly converted into a glorified man cave
Hammond is now thought to be renting a property in a nearby village, where he runs his ‘Smallest Cog’ car restoration garage
But the presenter said he had managed to ‘sneak’ in some of his favourites after it was ‘decided’ they had to be removed and added Mindy ‘doesn’t go in the barn’.
He said: ‘My wife swears blind it is haunted and so it is more for me and the chaps.’
Hammond confirmed his separation from Mindy in a joint statement published on social media in January, but insisted they will ‘always be in each other’s lives.’
He wrote: ‘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.
However, life as a single man appeared to get off to a bad start on Wednesday, with the presenter admitting he’d already shut himself out of his temporary home
The presenter’s former home, a Grade II-listed property built in the 18th century, has six bedrooms, a swimming pool and 20 acres of land
Hammond confirmed his separation from Mindy in a joint statement published on social media in January , but insisted they will ‘always be in each other’s lives’
‘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’s understood that Mindy had previously warned Hammond he was on his ‘last chance’, eight years before the couple announced their marriage was over, but has since filed divorce papers.
A 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.’
The presenter’s relentless travelling and dangerous TV escapades were thought to be mitigating factors in the split, after two previous high speed crashed almost cost Hammond his life.
Hammond nearly lost his life when he was involved in a 320mph crash while filming a Top Gear stunt at York’s Elvington airfield back in 2006
He endured a second brush with death after his £2million Rimac supercar careered off a hill and burst into flames as he raced at high speed through rural Switzerland in 2017
But he admitted there were no plans to give up travelling the world, despite The Grand Tour coming to an end.
Speaking to Fernie, he admitted he’d since planned a lads’ road trip around India with his brother and a group of friends.
‘My little brother’s 50 this year,’ he explained. ‘ And I wanted to do something. We’ve got a great bunch of mates – we share a lot of friends – and they all ride bikes, so we decided to go to the Himalayas and ride bikes over the tallest, most navigable, motorable paths in the world.
‘It’s twenty one thousand feet, it’s higher than Everest base camp, so the air is thin, the roads are shaky. There are eight of us, and just a mixed bunch of friends… but I figured they’d all be able to handle a road trip.’
Hammond also revealed there were important rules put in place to ensure everyone got long during the arduous trip.
‘We can all be a dick occasionally, but you’ve got to not overdo it because you’re going to ruin it for everyone else,’ he said.
‘But more importantly, if someone else is annoying you, you cannot give in to that. You’ve got to have give and take.’
