RICAHRD Hammond and his wife, Amanda "Mindy" Hammond, have announced their split after an "amazing 28 years together".
The Sun understands that newspaper columnist Mindy demanded the divorce and "wanted him gone", claims a source.
Wife Mindy is asking to keep the £7million Bollitree Castle estate as part of their split settlement.
The source said: “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.”
Hammond, known for motoring shows Top Gear and The Grand Tour, shared a statement on his X account from him and his wife, who he married in 2002.
The couple said: "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.
"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.".
Hammond found fame on local radio before landing the plum job on Top Gear and going on to present The Grand Tour on Amazon for a reported £7million salary.
He also presented Brainiac and Total Wipeout.
In 2006 he miraculously survived a 288mph crash in a jet-powered car while filming a segment for Top Gear.
