CASHING IN?
I won £450k on the lottery – my boyfriend demanded to control the cash & buy sports cars, my family were no better
Find out which other British winners have been affected by the lotto curse
WHEN you win the lottery you expect your life will change for the better - but one woman said it's become a total 'nightmare.'
She revealed she bought the lottery ticket on a whim and forgot about it until she was watching TV and saw that the draw was on.
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She decided to check her ticket and discovered she'd won the £450,000 ($600,000) jackpot.
While she thought winning would be a dream come true, she soon realised it wasn't all it seemed after her parents, sister, and boyfriend all turned on her once the money hit her bank.
She said on Reddit: "I never thought winning the lottery would be anything other than a dream come true. But here I am, with more money than I ever imagined, and it feels like my life is falling apart.
"I couldn't believe my eyes—I had won $600,000. At first, I was in shock. I called my boyfriend, James*, and he rushed over, equally ecstatic.
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"We were both over the moon, dreaming of what we could do with the money. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare."
She says her partner soon began making plans with her winnings - even wanting to quit his jobs to live off her earnings.
He made plans for the cash without her consent including splashing out on luxury sports cars and investing in risky ventures.
She recalled telling him to slow down but that he got defensive claiming she was trying to control everything.
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The woman continued: "Then my family got involved. My parents, who I’ve always had a strained relationship with, suddenly wanted to reconnect. They started dropping hints about their financial struggles and how they could use some help.
"My sister, who’s always been jealous of me, outright demanded a share, saying she deserved it for all the times she 'supported' me. It felt like they were all looking at me differently, like I was just a bank to them now."
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When she didn't give in, James started to see his friends more and stop hanging out with her while her family's demands started to become more aggressive. Her parents believed they were entitled to her money because they raised her.
She added: "My sister called me greedy and accused me of abandoning my family. I felt trapped and overwhelmed, unable to make anyone happy.
"James and I realised that our relationship had become toxic, revolving around money rather than love and mutual respect. We decided to break up. He moved out, taking some money with him as a parting gift, and I felt a mix of relief and sadness."
But now her relationships were left in tatters she was left wishing she never won the lottery as it has "destroyed" all of the meaningful relationships in her life.
Curse of lotto winners
Despite hitting the jackpot, countless UK lotto winners have suffered astonishing tragedies and lost their fortunes.
Callie Rogers
Callie became Britain’s youngest lottery winner when she won £1.9million in 2003.
The 16-year-old from Cumbria gave up her £3.60-an-hour checkout job and went on a spending spree, purchasing a £180,000 bungalow and a £76,000 home for her mum.
But she ultimately blew thousands on wild parties, three boob jobs and drugs, plus around £300,000 on designer clothes.
Eighteen years after her win, Callie was found to be claiming Universal Credit after blowing her fortune.
Michael Carrol
The self-styled ‘King of Chavs’ was 19 when he scooped £9,736,131 on the National Lottery in November 2002.
The part-time binman, who was wearing an electronic tag when he bought his winning ticket, immediately bought a £340,000 six-bedroom home in Norfolk.
He spent a further £400,000 on lavish home upgrades and dropped £49,000 on a BMW to park in his drive. He most notably invested £1million in Rangers FC shares.
Michael’s wife, Sandra, left him over his incessant party boy lifestyle and took £1.4million from the divorce settlement. By 2010, he had declared bankruptcy.
Roger Griffiths
Griffiths and his wife Lara netted £1.8million on the National Lottery in 2005.
Quitting their day jobs, the couple enjoyed expensive holidays and luxury motors and also splashed £800,000 on a barn conversion in Wetherby, West Yorks.
After wannabe rock star Roger spent £25,000 making a music record, the couple divested into safer assets but the global financial crisis hit and rendered them worthless.
In 2010, their uninsured home tragically went up in flames - and all their funds dried up three years later.
Lee Ryan
Ex-jailbird Ryan scooped the £6.5million jackpot just 17 weeks after the lottery was launched in 1994.
It later emerged he was accused of handling stolen cars and was imprisoned for 18 months after his huge payout.
Once released he spent a decade enjoying his riches, even buying a helicopter and a £2million mansion but ultimately ended up penniless.
Lee was dealt his final blow when he took an ill-fated trip to Kyrgyzstan and invested the last of his winnings in property, which failed due to an economic crisis.
Gillian and Adrian Bayford
The loving couple’s lives changed overnight in 2012 when they scooped a staggering £148million.
But just 15 months after the win, their eight-year marriage ended with both parties partly blaming stress on their mind-boggling win.
Adrian shacked up with ex-horse groomer Samantha Burbidge, who ended up bolting with his money, 30 horses, a horse box, and a car he gifted her.
Gillian was convicted of attacking her ex-lover Gavin Innes. She then moved on and started dating fraudster Brian Deans, who ended up in jail, and last made the headlines in 2021 for claiming nearly £40,000 in furlough cash.
Margaret Loughrey
Margaret scooped £27million in 2013 and became Northern Ireland's biggest winner at the time.
However, the 48-year-old later admitted the huge fortune didn't bring her any happiness.
She told local media: "Money has brought me nothing but grief. It has destroyed my life."
Tragically, in September last year, Margaret, by now in her 50s, was found dead in her home.
Martyn and Kay Tott
The Totts got the shock of their lives when they realised they'd won £3million back in 2001 – six months after buying the ticket.
By the time they saw an appeal for the winner to come forward, they couldn't find the ticket.
Computer records in their local Londis proved Kay really had purchased the ticket.
But a little-known rule stipulating that lost tickets must be reported within 30 days meant they would never receive the cash – eventually putting too much strain on their marriage and causing it to break down.
She added: "I'm alone with my fortune, but I’ve never felt poorer. My family is barely speaking to me, and I’ve lost someone I thought I’d spend my life with. I’ve hired a financial advisor and a therapist to help me navigate this new reality, but the emotional toll is immense.
"Winning the lottery was supposed to be a blessing, but it turned into a curse. I wish I could go back to the way things were before, when life was simpler and relationships were genuine."
People of were quick to comment on her post, defending her right to do what she wants with her winnings and claimed the relationships she lost weren't good to begin with.
One person wrote: "Money changes things, often in ways we don't expect. It’s a tough lesson, but now you know who truly has your back. Focus on protecting your mental health and finding real connections that aren’t driven by money."
Another commented: "Definitely quit telling people how much you have. You seem to be on two very good and great paths with therapy and hiring or at least consulting with financial advisers."
"This is why you don't tell people you've won the lottery. Even friends and family can fall apart when it comes to money," penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: "This is why you tell NO ONE about your finances."
"It wasn't a curse. It just showed you the true nature of the people in your life,” claimed a fifth.
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Someone else added: “Sounds like, in the long run, it's gonna improve your life. It may suck now, but it's just showing these people's true colours."
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