Richard Hammond has claimed being a male TV presenter is “catastrophic for mental health” as he admitted to having bad traits.
The former Top Gear presenter, 55, spoke out following his shock split from wife Mindy. They had been together for 28 years before they announced their separation earlier this month with a heartfelt joint statement. “Our marriage is coming to an end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters,” they shared.
“We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created.” Now, Richard has opened up to their daughter Izzy as he made a candid confession. They were speaking to presenter Steve Jones on the Who We Are Now podcast when Richard said: “As a bloke, keeping your head straight, managing your mental fitness.
“I think being a television presenter, especially a male one, is catastrophic. For 36 years my male ego has been rewarded for some of the worst traits we can exhibit. I’ve been encouraged to show off, I’ve been encourage to believe that what I’m about to say is compelling enough to hold the attention of 365million people that my questions are pertinent. It can be hideous.”
He joked: “I’m perfect of course,” before putting on a wheezy voice and adding: “Completely balanced and happy.” Steve shared how he likes to stay busy, which prompted Richard to open up and compare their looks. He admitted: “I hate having nothing to do because a lot of what we do in TV presenting, I think, in my case, is compensatory. I am shorter, of course I’m shorter than you. Thank you nature.”
Izzy appeared surprised with the conversation as she asked: “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? You’re really revealing some stuff.” The former Grand Tour host Richard and Mindy had been in a relationship for almost three decades. The former couple, who got married in 2002, are parents to daughter Izzy Hammond, 23, and Willow Hammond, 21, together.
They have faced challenges in their marriage, including after Richard was involved in a car crash whilst filming Top Gear in 2006. He experienced a brain injury as a result of it and ended up in a weeks-long coma in intensive care. Reflecting on the experience years later, Richard suggested that Mindy had helped bring him out of the coma.
He recalled having a “dream” that he was walking in the Lake District whilst in the coma and said in a video uploaded to YouTube in 2022 that he woke up around the same time that his wife had been “screaming” and saying “don’t you dare die” at his bedside in intensive care. It has since been reported that Richard had been sleeping in the converted barn of their Bollitree Castle estate in Herefordshire prior to their split. There’s also speculation that columnist Mindy initiated divorce proceedings.
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