Richard Hammond has described the period after his divorce as among the happiest of his life, despite losing his father, dog, home and a substantial amount of money before finding love again with therapist Kiki Glen.
The former Top Gear presenter, 56, spoke about the upheaval during an appearance on the High Performance podcast, recalling the year he spent living alone in a rented cottage in the countryside.
Hammond said: “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**t. The happiest I’ve been in years was living in a rented cottage, my divorce cottage.”
After leaving the couple’s £7 million mock-Gothic home, Bollitree Castle in Herefordshire, Hammond contacted a friend who owned a large estate and was offered a small farmhouse called Camp Farm.
“I lived there for like a year. I bloody loved it,” he said. “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 recalled cooking Sunday lunch for 14 people and bringing an outside table indoors to accommodate everyone.
“And it was just, I loved it. Absolutely adored it. Very, very happy times,” he said.
Hammond and Mindy announced in January 2025 that their marriage was coming to an end, but said they would remain a family and would always be part of each other’s lives. They have two daughters, Izzy, 26, and Willow, 23.
The former couple later appeared together at Willow’s graduation from Hartpury University in Gloucester, where they remained civil despite their separation.
Hammond’s relationship with Glen became public in June. The therapist, whose full name is Keira Glen, is a governor of Headington Rye school in Oxford and has two daughters.
In a separate interview, Hammond described the new relationship as “the best thing that’s going on for me”. He said he had taken up more serious running, played golf and planned to attempt a small triathlon.
He also spoke about being persuaded to try wild swimming after Glen encouraged him to enter a lake.
“The next day, both of us are in wetsuits, swimming. And I absolutely loved it,” he said.
Hammond has previously described 2025 as a “year from hell”, including the “devastating” collapse of his marriage. The relationship had been affected by injuries he sustained in two serious crashes.
In 2006, he was placed in a coma after crashing a Vampire Dragster at more than 200mph while filming Top Gear. In 2017, he fractured his knee after a crash involving a Rimac Concept One during the second series of The Grand Tour.
Announcing their separation, Hammond and Mindy said they had enjoyed “an amazing 28 years together” and had “two incredible daughters”, adding that they were proud of the family they had created.
