Seven-time world snooker champion Stephen Hendry once confessed how he left his ex-wife “devastated” after revealing he had found love with someone else. The Scot – who is appearing as a BBC pundit for the 2025 World Snooker Championship – was married to childhood sweetheart Amanda Hart for 19 years before he left her for Lauren Thundow, who is 19 years his junior.
Awarded an MBE in 1994 for his contributions to sport, Hendry clinched 36 ranking tournament victories from 57 finals. He met ex-wife Amanda at Pontins when he was just 16 years old, and the pair tied the knot in 1995. The couple had two sons together, named Blaine and Carter. The pair were an item for just short of three decades before they parted ways in 2014. And Hendry revealed in his 2018 autobiography, Me and The Table (via Wales Online), how he informed his wife their marriage had ended.
“Driving back from a shopping trip, my wife Mandy asks me what’s wrong,” he wrote. “She assumes it’s money-related. I tell her it isn’t. Then she tells me to stop the car, saying that we’re not going an inch further until I tell her what’s going on. So I do. I tell her that I have feelings for someone else. She is shocked and devastated.”
Hendry later found love with children’s entertainer and actress Lauren Thundow. She was just 26 when they met, while Hendry was 45. He recalled: “I first met Lauren when she was selling merchandise after a Legends snooker exhibition. She’s attractive and we smile at each other but I think nothing of it.
“Gradually, we start to say, ‘Hi’, and share a bit of small talk. I would never be one to go striding over to any woman who caught my eye – after all, I’m the person who got to know my wife’s parents before I plucked up the courage to talk to her. As time goes on, we chat more often. It’s becoming clear we have a connection.”
Hendry has also reflected on his parenting during an appearance on The Tommy Tiernan Show. And he confessed how his career choices impacted his role as a father, where he has perhaps been found lacking over the years.
“Driving back from a shopping trip, my wife Mandy asks me what’s wrong,” he wrote. “She assumes it’s money-related. I tell her it isn’t. Then she tells me to stop the car, saying that we’re not going an inch further until I tell her what’s going on. So I do. I tell her that I have feelings for someone else. She is shocked and devastated.”
Hendry later found love with children’s entertainer and actress Lauren Thundow. She was just 26 when they met, while Hendry was 45. He recalled: “I first met Lauren when she was selling merchandise after a Legends snooker exhibition. She’s attractive and we smile at each other but I think nothing of it.
“Gradually, we start to say, ‘Hi’, and share a bit of small talk. I would never be one to go striding over to any woman who caught my eye – after all, I’m the person who got to know my wife’s parents before I plucked up the courage to talk to her. As time goes on, we chat more often. It’s becoming clear we have a connection.”
Hendry has also reflected on his parenting during an appearance on The Tommy Tiernan Show. And he confessed how his career choices impacted his role as a father, where he has perhaps been found lacking over the years.