Stephen Hendry wife 'devastated' after he left her for actress 19 years younger than him
Stephen Hendry is keeping a close eye on the Crucible action, but his life away from the table hasn't always been smooth sailing after splitting from his wife and finding new love
Scottish snooker icon Stephen Hendry left his ex-wife "devastated" after informing her he had fallen for someone 19 years his junior. The seven-time world champion is reporting from the sidelines at the 2025 World Snooker Championship, but his former spouse of 19 years, Amanda Tart, may not be among those tuning in.
Hendry turned professional at just 16 and reportedly boasts a reported net worth of £13.5million thanks to his exploits on the green baize. He was honoured with an MBE in 1994 for his contributions to sport and has racked up 36 ranking tournament wins from 57 finals.
Off the snooker table, Hendry has two children with ex-wife Amanda, sons Blaine and Carter. The pair met at Pontins when he was just 16 and tied the knot in 1995.
However, their marriage ended in divorce in 2014 after more than two decades as a couple. And Hendry revealed in his 2018 autobiography, 'Me and The Table', the painful moment he informed his wife it was over.
"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."
Life went on, and Hendry found new love with children's performer and actress Lauren Thundow. They struck up a relationship when he was 45 and she was just 26.
"I first met Lauren when she was selling merchandise after a Legends snooker exhibition," he continued in his memoir. "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."
It will have undoubtedly impacted Hendry and Tart's sons, Blaine, 29, and Carter, 21. Speaking candidly on The Tommy Tiernan Show later in life, he confessed his intense dedication to his career meant he couldn't be the father he aspired to be.
"No, I probably haven't been the best [dad], because in sport I think you make sacrifices to get to the top," he said. "Family and relationships can be difficult and can be sacrificed because I was all about being the best in snooker and snooker was all that mattered.
"So that makes you a very selfish person, and I think it takes that sort of special person to get to the top in an individual sport. When you look at most top sportsmen who have dominated sports, most of them pretty much all are divorced or have been divorced."
The Scot is lending his expert commentary to the Crucible proceedings with the BBC, and few have better insight to give than a man who won the World Championship a joint-record seven times. The 56-year-old is one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen, having also clinched five consecutive Masters titles from 1989 to 1993.
He joins a star-studded line-up that includes Steve Davis, John Parrott, Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor, as well as BBC host Hazel Irvine. And he could be front and centre to see Ronnie O'Sullivan finally break his long-standing record in Sheffield should 'The Rocket' get his hands on an eighth world title.
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