Armie Hammer's mother shares how faith sustained her through heartbreak, scandal
Dru Hammer’s life reads like a novel, one filled with dizzying highs, devastating lows — and most importantly, a journey of faith, forgiveness and perseverance in the face of betrayal.
Hammer is the ex-wife of Michael Hammer, grandson of Occidental Petroleum magnate Armand Hammer, and mother of financier Viktor Hammer and embattled actor Armie Hammer — and she’s seen her family's life scrutinized and sensationalized in the public eye for decades.
In an interview with The Christian Post, the 62-year-old said she wrote her new memoir, Hammered, to shift the focus of her highly-publicized story to the faith that has carried her through.
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“It took me 10 years to write this book, because if you write a book, I really believe that you have to bring in the good, the bad and the ugly, and in our family, there's just a lot of all of the above,” she said. “But that's what Jesus does; when you have problems and when you're going through all these horrendous things, God is faithful. And that's really the whole message of my book, is the faithfulness of God when our hearts get hammered.”
In her book, Hammer recounts her upbringing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where her father led a traveling healing ministry, influenced by evangelists like Kenneth Hagin and Oral Roberts. It was that foundation, Hammer said, that became her lifeline as she would go on to navigate a life of privilege and heartbreak.
“When you grow up as a child, and that's what you see all into your adulthood, and you see people walk out of wheelchairs and the blind people receiving their sight, there's no way that I could ever limit God. He is the Creator of the universe. Who are we, as mere peons with our finite minds? Who are we to limit the God, the creator of the universe, who is infinite? So that really directed every step of my life,” she said.
Hammer met Michael Hammer on a plane to Tulsa, and after a whirlwind romance, she found herself married into a world of glamour and privilege, complete with lavish dinners, servants and parties with royalty like Princess Diana.
Ten months after their marriage, Hammer became pregnant with their first child, Armie, and welcomed their second son, Viktor, three years later. Now residing in Los Angeles with her family, she also began renovating and selling houses, a business she said quickly blossomed.
But it wasn’t long before her idyllic world was shattered. Her boys were still young when she found out her husband had been unfaithful, but, she writes, he seemed repentant, and not wanting her children to grow up without a father, she forgave him.
Her marriage of 25 years finally unraveled after she had a dream in which God revealed her husband Michael's infidelity — again. Confronted, Michael initially denied the accusation but ultimately admitted to years of unrepentant affairs, rooted, he claimed, in childhood trauma from severe abuse.
Financially blindsided, Hammer discovered that Michael had made her unknowingly relinquish her rights to their assets. Following her decision to leave him, his office canceled her credit cards and bank accounts.
During this time, she relied on her faith to sustain her, spending her days walking, listening to Scripture and praying. Although she fervently prayed for reconciliation, she ultimately faced the reality of an inevitable divorce.
“When I came out of my divorce, I wasn't left penniless, thankfully, because I had renovated 27 homes during our marriage," she said.
“When I walked down the aisle 40 years ago, I never in a million years dreamed that 25 years later I would be going through a very difficult divorce,” she continued. “My father was a very trustworthy person, and I loved my husband and I trusted him. Why would I stay in a marriage with a person that I didn't trust? That would be ridiculous, right? What's the point of that? But sometimes, again, God doesn't fail us, but people can fail us, and there can be deceptions.”
Hammer eventually forgave her ex-husband, and before his passing from a glioblastoma brain tumor in 2022, the two had become friends, celebrating holidays together with their children.
“I actually became very good friends with my former husband. […] Does God want us to be divorced? Absolutely not. God says He hates divorce and it leads to sin, and boy does it, but God can also restore as well."
“I loved my husband,” she said. “I loved him till the day he died. I would go into his hospital room and crawl in bed with him and pray over him, and ask Jesus to heal him, of course, because I believe in healing, but he got the ultimate healing. He's worshiping the Lord in Heaven.”
In her book, Hammer also touches on the scandal surrounding her son, Armie. In January 2021, multiple women accused Armie of sharing sexual fantasies with them that involved cannibalism, among other allegations. A prolific actor, Armie’s story made headlines in the tabloids and was highlighted in the 2022 documentary “House of Hammer,” though no charges were ever filed.
In 2023, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office announced Hammer would not face any charges related to the allegations.
When asked about the controversy, Dru Hammer said, “There’s always another side,” she recalled, adding: “He just decided, I'm not going to speak out, that the truth always comes out, and that's what he did. So occasionally I would call him and go, ‘Well, if you won't speak out, can I speak out? Because those girls stayed in my home, and they were in love with you. And if you were really that terrible of a person, they wouldn't have wanted to be with you like that.'”
She recounted her approach with Armie during his public ordeal. “I would remind him, ‘People will fail you, but God never will.’ My role wasn’t to be their friend but their guide, even when it wasn’t popular.”
Though she raised her children in the church, Hammer said she doesn’t “necessarily see” her sons “seeking the Lord deeply” today. But she is confident they’ll return to the faith she tried to instill in them as children.
“I don't think they have a chance, because I pray every single day, and the best thing I can do is to be a godly example to them, and the rest is up to them. We're only responsible for ourselves,” she said.
“You have to rely on God for your joy, because the world could absolutely be falling apart around you, and you can still have joy if you trust God. I also have to think, wow, God, you must have something really fabulous for the Hammer family, because our entire family has been obliterated.”
Motherhood, Hammer said, has been both her greatest joy and her toughest calling. “I’m a praying mom,” she asserted. “My sons know where I stand.”
Though touching on public scandals and personal heartbreak, the major theme of Hammer’s book is forgiveness, something she says is crucial for emotional and spiritual health.
“Bitterness eats people alive,” she said. “I had lunch with a woman once who was so venomous about her ex-husband I thought it had happened recently. Then she told me it had been 12 years. Forgiveness isn’t about the other person — it’s about freeing yourself. Jesus says, ‘I can’t forgive you until you forgive others.’ I need forgiveness every day, so I don’t have time to hold onto bitterness.”
Today, Hammer uses her platform, experiences and resources to help others. Her nonprofit, Hammered Hearts, exists to help others spiritually, physically and mentally who have also experienced hardship, and she’s also worked with the Dream Center, helping victims of sex trafficking and those struggling with drug abuse.
“I just really believe that God gives us so much and He's so faithful, that my greatest joy now is to being able to go out and help other people that are going through the same thing,” she said.
She’s also launching an innovative AI project, “What Does the Bible Say?” debuting at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18. The project uses AI to answer over 1,000 questions rooted in Scripture.
“It’s not the Bible according to Dru Hammer,” she said. “It’s what God’s Word says. My hope is to make Scripture accessible and clear for anyone seeking truth.”
By sharing her story with the world, Hammer hopes to encourage others that they, too, can find hope, forgiveness and healing through faith, regardless of the challenges life throws at them.
“We can have peace amongst chaos, and that's the word 'shalom,'" she said. "Jesus said, ‘I am the Prince of Peace,’ so I just kept relying on Jesus as my source of peace and joy."
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
