Richard Hammond was still wearing his wedding ring when he returned to work on Wednesday, but almost never made it after locking himself out of his current home.
Hammond confirmed his split from wife Mindy in January after 28 years of marriage, amid claims his family had become irritated by his constant travel and risky stunts on Amazon Prime show The Grand Tour.
Sources claim he initially left the house – £7million Bollitere Castle in Hertfordshire – and moved into an adjacent barn on the property, lovingly converted by the presenter into a glorified man cave.
Hammond, 55, is now said to be renting a property in a nearby village where he runs his ‘Smallest Cog’ car restoration garage.
However, Wednesday’s working day seemed to get off to a bad start, with the presenter admitting he had locked himself out.
Appearing on his popular Drivetribe YouTube channel with Mike Fernie, he said: ‘I’m late because I locked myself in.
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 divorce from wife Mindy in January after 28 years of marriage, amid claims his family had become irritated by his constant travel and risky stunts
‘I’m getting ready to go to the Lake District this afternoon, I’ve got everything packed and ready, and then I thought I’d empty the bins.
“So I took the kitchen box out of the front door – I never lock anything – but it’s a Yale lock and the door is stuck. I was outside, I was in my Crocs, I was in my robe. 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 wouldn’t help. I felt about ten.’
The presenter eventually tried to smash a window with a stray rock, but it bounced harmlessly off the glass.
“I don’t know how burglars make their living,” he added. ‘Don’t know. So I ended up having to call a locksmith, who came in within five seconds
“So in short, I’m late because I’m an idiot.”
Reports have already emerged that 59-year-old Mindy – who previously called him a ‘nine-year-old boy’ – wants to keep the Herefordshire castle they once shared amid their impending divorce.
The former couple bought the castle in 2008 and Hammond then spent fifteen years converting a Grade II listed granary on the site into his dream clubhouse.
Sources claim he initially left the house – £7million Bollitere Castle in Hertfordshire – and moved into an adjacent barn on the property, lovingly converted into a glorified man cave.
It is believed Hammond now rents premises in a nearby village, where he runs his ‘Smallest Cog’ car restoration garage
In 2024, Richard hinted at the tensions in the marriage when he gave fans a tour and admitted he broke her one golden rule: not leaving his prized motorcycle collection in the room.
But the presenter said he managed to sneak in some of his favorites after it was ‘decided’ they needed to be removed, adding that Mindy ‘isn’t going into the shed’.
He said, “My wife swears it’s haunted so it’s more for me and the boys.”
Hammond confirmed his split from Mindy in a joint statement released 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, just structured a little differently.
However, life as a single man seemed to get off to a bad start on Wednesday, with the presenter admitting he had already locked himself out of his temporary home.
The presenter’s former home, a Grade II listed building from the 18th century, has six bedrooms, a swimming pool and 20 hectares of land
Hammond confirmed his split 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 an end, but we have had 28 wonderful years together and two wonderful daughters.
“We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we have created.
‘We will have no further comment 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 Mindy Hammond previously warned he was on his ‘last chance’ eight years before the couple announced their marriage was over, but has since filed divorce papers.
A source said The sun: ‘Richard is very angry about all this. It seems like he tried his best to rekindle the relationship but to no avail. There is no speculation that a third party is involved.”
The presenter’s relentless traveling and dangerous TV escapades were thought to be mitigating factors in the split, after two previous high-speed accidents almost claimed Hammond’s life.
Hammond almost lost his life when he was involved in a 320mph crash while filming a Top Gear stunt at Elvington Airport in York in 2006.
He suffered a second death after his £2million Rimac supercar careened off a hill and burst into flames as he raced at high speed through the Swiss countryside in 2017.
But he admitted there were no plans to give up traveling the world despite the Grand Tour coming to an end.
Speaking to Fernie, he admitted that he had since planned a boys’ road trip around India with his brother and a group of friends.
“My little brother is turning 50 this year,” he explained. ‘And I wanted to do something. We have a great group of friends – we share a lot of friends – and they all ride bikes, so we decided to go to the Himalayas and cycle the highest, most navigable, rideable trails in the world.
“It’s twenty-six thousand feet, it’s higher than Everest base camp, so the air is thin and the roads are shaky. There’s eight of us, and just a mixed bunch of friends… but I figured they could all handle a road trip.”
Hammond also revealed that important rules had been put in place to ensure everyone had enough time during the arduous journey.
“We can all be a dick sometimes, but you shouldn’t overdo it or you’ll ruin it for everyone else,” he said.
‘But more importantly: if someone else irritates you, you cannot give in to it. You have to give and take.’