'I WAS A BLANK CHEQUE'
My £450,000 lottery win has been slowly ruining my life – relatives I hate are gagging for cash
The woman had forgotten about the ticket
A LOTTERY winner who scooped a staggering £450,000 says it ruined her life.
The woman has become bombarded by her family members who want a chunk of her cash.
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She explained how what first started as a dream come true has since become a living nightmare.
"I never thought winning the lottery would be anything other than a dream come true," she wrote on Reddit.
"But here I am, with more money than I ever imagined, and it feels like my life is falling apart."
Her troubles first started with her boyfriend, who took it upon himself to decide what they would do with the cash.
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"I couldn't believe my eyes - I had won £450,000. At first, I was in shock.
"I called my boyfriend, James, and he rushed over, equally ecstatic.
"We were both over the moon, dreaming of what we could do with the money. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare."
She said James wanted to quit his job, buy a luxury car and invest in 'risky' ventures.
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"When I suggested we take things slow and maybe talk to a financial advisor, he got defensive. He accused me of not trusting him and said I was trying to control everything," she explained.
She won a staggering amount of money after buying a lottery ticket on a whim.
I won $1m at 28 playing a lottery scratch-off – I swore I wouldn’t be a statistic &; after 8 years I have nothing left-
It wasn't until she saw the number draw on TV and realised she'd won.
The woman added: "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."
After having issues with her parents, her sister also wanted a share of the winnings.
"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."
Her boyfriend started to distance himself from her and they eventually split up.
The lottery winner said that when he moved out, he took some of the money with him as a "parting gift".
At the time, her parents became "more aggressive" in their demands for the cash.
Her mum and dad believed they were entitled to her winnings because they'd raised her.
"My sister called me greedy and accused me of abandoning my family. I felt trapped and overwhelmed, unable to make anyone happy," the woman added.
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"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."
What are my chances of winning the lottery?
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, the lottery is a game of luck and there are no tips or tricks that can guarantee you'll take home a top prize.
The odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize - the lower the number, the better the odds.
For example, odds of 1 in 10 are better than odds of 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
There are several major lottery games in the UK including Lotto by the National Lottery, Camelot's EuroMillions and Thunderball.
Chances of winning the Lotto
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 - far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Chances of winning the EuroMillions
The EuroMillions costs £2.50 to play and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To play, you must pick five numbers from 1-50 and two "Lucky Stars" from 1-12. Players with the most matching numbers win the top prizes.
Your chance of bagging the EuroMillions jackpot is even slimmer than winning the top Lotto prize.
This is because it generally has higher jackpots on offer, meaning it attracts more attention.
Currently, the odds of matching five numbers and two lucky stars - the top win - stand at 1 in 139,838,160.
The average jackpot prize is £57,923,499, according to EuroMillions.
The odds of winning the second top prize for matching 5 balls and a lucky star, which is typically around £262,346, are 1 in 6,991,908.
The chances of taking home the third prize for five matching balls, with an average payout of £26,277, are 1 in 3,107,515.
For four matching balls with two lucky stars, it's 1 in 621,503, and for four balls with one lucky star, it's 1 in 31,076. These come with an average prize of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by National Lottery where you pick five numbers and one "Thunderball". It costs just £1 to play and you can enter up to four times a week.
The jackpot of £500,000 for matching five balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 8,060,598.
Your odds of bagging the next highest prize of £5,000 for matching five balls is currently 1 in 620,046, while the chances of winning £250 for four balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 47,416.
You have the best chance of winning £3 for matching the Thunderball, with odds of 1 in 29.
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