2025 has been a brutal year for Richard Hammond, the once unshakable Top Gear star. The man known for his daredevil antics and infectious grin is facing a series of personal and professional storms that would leave anyone reeling.
It all started with the shocking announcement of his divorce from Mindy Etheridge after 28 years together. The split was amicable but heart-wrenching. Mindy, the steady anchor who stood by Hammond through two near-fatal crashes and the chaos of his career, chose to move on. He parted with their cherished home, Bolletry Castle, a symbol of the life and memories they built together, and retreated to a modest barn nearby. Suddenly, the man who lived in a castle found himself living in its shadow, grappling with solitude that no roaring engine could drown out.
If that wasn’t enough, Hammond’s classic car restoration business, “The Smallest Cog,” has become a money pit. Despite pouring his passion and nearly half a million pounds of his own cash into this venture, the business struggles to break even. The very project meant to ground him and give his restless mind a new challenge has become a source of stress, running him ragged rather than providing the sanctuary he hoped for. This obsession with his struggling business pulled him away even from family life, further straining relationships.
Meanwhile, 2025 also marked the end of Hammond’s eight-year stint on The Grand Tour, closing a significant chapter in his career. Compounding the pressures, he faced the personal loss of his 80-year-old father to cancer in October, deepening the emotional weight.
Across the board, this year has stripped Hammond of the familiar comforts and triumphs that defined him. Gone are the carefree days of living life at full throttle. Instead, he faces a quieter, lonelier fight, one without a scripted finish line or roaring crowd. But if anyone knows about survival, it’s Hammond. Twice he faced death head-on in horrific crashes and clawed his way back. Now, the battle is more subtle but no less fierce figuring out how to rebuild when the world as you knew it falls apart.
This year has been an anus horriblis for Richard Hammond. The engines may have stopped roaring, but the fight inside Hammond burns as fiercely as ever.