Richard Hammond’s mystery new girlfriend is a 53-year-old therapist and divorced mother-of-two, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The former Top Gear host, 56, was pictured with his new beau, Kiki Glen, last week in Abergavenny, the Welsh town Hammond now calls home following his divorce from wife of 23 years Mindy Etheridge.
It is his first relationship since his marriage break-up and according to pals, the pair are taking things slow but enjoy being in each other’s company ‘immensely’.
A friend said: ‘Richard is having fun and really appreciates he’s lucky to have someone he shares such a spark with.
‘He wasn’t expecting to get into a relationship so quickly, but he’s not complaining.
‘It’s early days but they’re happy to see where it goes with no pressure.’
Hammond revealed earlier this month he has entered a new relationship while discussing his quieter lifestyle post-divorce which centres around cooking, running, walking and enjoying the countryside.
The TV host, who shares daughters Izzy, 25, and Willow, 22, with Mindy, said he eats early by himself or with his girlfriend and admitted he is content with a quiet night in watching TV.
Richard Hammond’s mystery new girlfriend is 53-year-old therapist and divorced mother-of-two, Kiki Glen (pictured), the Daily Mail can reveal
The former Top Gear host, 56, was photographed (pictured) with his new beau, Kiki Glen, last week in Abergavenny, the Welsh town he now calls home
Kiki, whose real name is Keira, lives in a picturesque village in Oxfordshire
It is his first relatonship since his divorce from wife of 23 years Mindy Etheridge (pictured)
But according to local residents, who often see him in a Waitrose and Morrisons, the couple spend their time frequenting the local pub.
One staff member told the Daily Mail: ‘They come here all the time, at least ten times since they moved here.
‘He’s a local. We sit him away from the front so people don’t see him. He just wants to sit in peace and enjoy a burger.
‘He doesn’t want to be bothered. He wants to be treated like anyone else.’
Kiki, whose real name is Keira, lives in a pretty village in Oxfordshire.
She previously worked in finance for JP Morgan as a client manager.
But after having children, she has spent the past 20 years of her working life as a teacher before becoming a therapist.
Kiki is also a non-executive director for engineering firm Barrus Ltd and a governor for a school in Oxford.
She was previously married to Richard Newall, 65, and the pair have two daughters, 26 and 24.
Hammond’s relationship with Kiki was first exposed in September – nine months after his divorce was made public – when he took her as his guest to the launch of YARD-O-LED’s first ever store in London’s Piccadilly.
The pair posed up together for an in-house photographer who also took snaps of Hammond with This Morning host Ben Shepherd and former Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry.
Hammond’s new home is near Hereford, where he runs car restoration business The Smallest Cog.
The six-bedroom Manor House in Upper Triley Farm is situated in the Welsh countryside and boasts a tennis court, a wine cellar and outbuildings to store his collection of super cars.
He had previously been renting another property in the town after being banished to sleep in a barn in the grounds of the £7million marital home, the mock-Gothic Bollitree Castle in Herefordshire set in 20 acres.
Despite the divorce, Hammond and ex-wife Mindy appear civil and appeared together at their daughter Willow’s graduation from Hartpury University in Gloucester after splitting.
The couple, who had been together for 28 years, said last year they had an ‘amazing’ relationship with ‘two incredible daughters’, adding they would ‘always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created’.
Hammond’s new home is near Hereford, where he runs car restoration business The Smallest Cog
He had previously been renting another property in the town after being banished to sleep in a barn in the grounds of the £7million marital home he shared with Mindy
Hammond shares daughters Izzy, 25, and Willow, 22, with Mindy. The pair appear civil, attending Willow’s graduation from Hartpury University in Gloucester together after their split
Kiki has been spending an increasing amount of time in Abergavenny with Hammond
Last October, the star referenced his marriage break-up in the opening episode of his Discovery+ series Richard Hammond’s Workshop.
He said: ‘Get something out of the way, straight away – there has been a slight change in my circumstances recently… I got divorced.
‘Which means I now live here. I like it, it’s got amazing views, a place to keep some of my cars and bikes and best of all, it’s close to the workshop.’
The divorce came soon after the end of The Grand Tour, the Prime Video series Hammond hosted with former Top Gear colleagues Jeremy Clarkson and James May, and the death of his father Alan, who was 80.
Last year Hammond told the Daily Mail he had a ‘year from hell’, including the ‘devastating’ collapse of his marriage.
His relationship with Mindy became increasingly strained in recent years due to injuries sustained in two near-fatal car crashes.
And she had previously warned him he was on his ‘last chance’, eight years before the couple announced their marriage was over
In 2006 he was hospitalised after crashing a Vampire Dragster at a speed in excess of 200 miles per hour and was put into a coma while filming a segment for Top Gear.
Eleven years later on the second season of The Grand Tour, he crashed a Rimac Concept One at a hill-climb in Switzerland, rolling the car several times and fracturing his knee.
An insider previously said: ‘Richard has been through an awful lot and the knock-on effect from the crashes has impacted his relationship.
‘It’s understandable given the sheer magnitude of the accidents and the impact caused both physically and mentally, he’s done so well to recover and get back to normal life.
‘But they have changed him, there’s no getting away from it, and his relationship with Mindy has been harmed during the fallout.’
Richard made a name for himself alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May in Top Gear on the BBC and later The Grand Tour on Prime Video
Announcing the divorce in January 2025, he 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 an 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.
‘With Love, Richard and Mindy.’
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