Stephen Hendry’s journey: from snooker icon to personal tribulations
Stephen Hendry, now working for the BBC as a pundit, gave his expertise and opinion throughout the World Championship tournament, reports BritPanorama.
The Scottish snooker legend still holds the record as the youngest player ever to lift the World Championship trophy, achieving the feat at just 21 years and 106 days old. His dominance extended far beyond that single triumph, claiming seven Crucible titles, sitting atop the world rankings for eight consecutive years from 1990, and securing six Masters titles along with five UK Championship wins.
Believed to have amassed a fortune of around £13.5 million through his glittering career, Hendry’s success includes 36 ranking tournament victories. Away from the baize, however, his personal life has garnered considerable attention over the years.
Hendry began a romance with Lauren Thundow, a children’s entertainer and actress, after they met at a Legends snooker exhibition more than a decade ago. At the time, Thundow was 26 while Hendry was 45, a 19-year age gap that drew interest.
His relationship with Thundow followed the end of his nearly two-decade marriage to Amanda Tart. The couple, who met at Pontins when Hendry was just 16, tied the knot in 1995 and welcomed two sons, Blaine and Carter. Their marriage ended in 2014 when Hendry confessed his feelings for another woman.
In his 2018 autobiography, “Me and the Table,” Hendry recounted the moment everything changed: “Driving back from a shopping trip, my wife Mandy asks me what’s wrong. 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.” He described the fallout from the split as emotionally and financially challenging, with the three years leading up to the finalized divorce being among the most stressful of his life.
The legal costs of the divorce came to a substantial six-figure sum, with Amanda remaining in their Scottish home with their sons. Breaking the news to Blaine and Carter proved particularly heart-wrenching for Hendry. He noted, “This is the hardest thing I have ever done and will probably ever have to do.”
Despite these turbulent circumstances, Hendry and Thundow have now been together for almost 12 years, creating a new chapter in the life of a man whose legacy in snooker remains formidable. As Hendry continues to commentate on the sport that made him a household name, his journey underscores the complexities faced behind the scenes, reflecting how even champions navigate personal upheaval amidst public adulation.
