WHOLE LOTTO LUCK
Euromillions jackpot National Lottery: What happened to some of Britain’s big winners who scooped hundreds of millions?
WITH the biggest EuroMillions jackpot in history still up for grabs, there's never been a better time to buy a lottery ticket.
The staggering £181.5million prize could finally be claimed by one lucky punter this Friday – but what happened to previous winners of EuroMillions megabucks?
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While most winners choose to be anonymous, some welcomed the spotlight.
And while you might think they're the luckiest people alive, many have gone on to have some serious misfortune.
There's plenty of reports of financial feuds and couples broken up by the "lottery curse".
Here's what happened to some of the UK's biggest EuroMillions winners.
Frances and Patrick Connolly
Just one lucky ticket matched all the numbers to scoop the £114.9million New Year's Day EuroMillions jackpot in 2019.
Frances and Patrick Connolly, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, celebrated the (extremely) lucky dip win with a cup of tea, after first thinking it was a scam.
Their exact prize pot was £114,969,755.70 making the couple the fourth-largest lottery winners in the country.
The generous pair - a retired teacher and businessman - said one of the first things they did was sit down and write a list of 50 people they want to share the money with.
For Frances' birthday last year, Patrick, who swapped his old Renault Laguna for a new £30,000 Alfa Romeo Giulia after their win, treated Frances to a second-hand £2,000 X-Type Jaguar — the same model she had owned more than a decade earlier and was discontinued in 2009.
They have three grandchildren, two boys and a girl, a daughter and twins.
This week, the couple also revealed they've given away a staggering £60m of their fortune already.
Colin and Chris Weir
Colin and Chris Weir won £161million on the EuroMillions in 2011.
They splashed out on a stunning mansion and, included in their first purchases were a checked sports jacket, a computer and a tractor.
The Scottish couple initially bought Knock House near Largs but then sold their mansion in favour of an even bigger pad in Troon.Tragicall,
But in April 2019, the couple revealed that they were amicably divorcing after 38 years of marriage.
They'd been living apart for a year before the announcement, with the divorce being made official in September.
Just three months later, Colin died of kidney failure and sepsis aged 72.
Adrian and Gillian Bayford
Adrian Bayford and his ex-wife Gillian won £148million on the EuroMillions in 2012.
But the couple split just 15 months after their win.
In June 2016, Adrian went back to work after he claimed he was getting "bored" at his £6million country mansion.
The music fan opened a film and record memorabilia store in Cambridge.
In February 2017 the wealthy winner's younger girlfriend left him and his home was raided in a £100,000 burglary, all in the space of a few weeks.
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And in June 2018 he was dumped by his latest girlfriend, Lisa Kemp.
Meanwhile Gillian had a bit of strife of her own as her father blasted her saying he "only received £1million" from his daughter despite her claims she gave him £20m.
Dad Ian McCulloch said: "Gillian's whole life is shredded with lies. Her life is a total mess – a fabrication."
In August 2018, Gillian married convicted fraudster Brian Deans.
The Davies Family
In 2016 the Davies family won £61million on the EuroMillions.
Stephanie Davies reluctantly bought a ticket on Friday night after mum Sonia phoned from Florida and begged her to buy one.
Sonia was in the US having vital keyhole surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, and had a feeling she would go on a winning streak after the op was a success.
The mum, who worked as an administration assistant, had cancer in the parathyroid glands in her neck.
The Welsh family said they were the "luckiest people on the planet" after scooping an enormous amount of cash.
But even this happy family couldn't avoid controversy as it was reported father of the family Keith,of Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, would share his cash with Holly, Abby, and Natasha — his daughters with ex Mandy.
But it was reported that Keith’s partner Sonia’s estranged son Spencer Pugh would not see a penny of the £61million EuroMillions win.
Bev Doran
Bev Doran won £14million on the EuroMillions in 2017.
But even she struggled with the life-changing sum as she feared her ex would launch legal action to get his hands on a share of her £14.5million EuroMillions jackpot.
The single mum-of-four split from jobless Sean Priestley just seven months before her win, after 12 years and three kids together.
Pals explained how she was seeking legal advice amid concerns skint Sean would try to mount a case to stake a claim on her new-found riches.
One said: "He doesn't deserve a single penny of it. She's getting advice at the moment and that's one area she's looking at."
Another said: "He should have stuck around a bit longer if he wanted some of the money. More fool him if he's stupid enough to try.
"If it was me I'd tell him to f*** off. It's not his money. It's for her and her kids. She'll get advice and deal with it."
Gareth and Catherine Bull
Gareth and his wife Catherine joked they were the most “boring multimillionaires” when they won £40.6million the EuroMillions in 2012.
She said she wanted a new carpet for the six-bedroom home he had just built and have her hair done twice a year.
But he splashed out on a huge hospitality box at Old Trafford and another at Wembley.
They also bought a holiday villa in Tenerife. She gave up her job and he wound down his building company.
The couple split and Gareth started dating a woman named Donna Desporte who he seduced by telling her to "Google him" in a bar in Tenerife.
They had a nine-month fling - which has ended with him ignoring and avoiding her, according to Donna.
Jane Park
Britain's youngest lottery winner Jane Park actually only won £1million on EuroMillions, but despite winning the least on our list, she's definitely made the biggest splash.
Just 17 at the time, she has since splashed out on cars, holidays, clothes and plastic surgery.
It is all a far cry from her £8-an-hour job as an admin temp and the two-bedroom Edinburgh council flat she shared with her mum Linda before her win.
But she said that winning has been a nightmare and that being a millionaire is stressful.
Speaking to the , she said: “I have material things but apart from that my life is empty. What is my purpose in life?”
"I thought it would make [my life] ten times better but it’s made it ten times worse.
"I wish I had no money most days. I say to myself, 'My life would be so much easier if I hadn’t won'."
The NHS dinner ladies
A group of NHS dinner ladies who call themselves the "Catering Girls" ditched their jobs after scooping a £25m lottery jackpot in November 2017.
The lucky six all quit the health service after scooping the EuroMillions prize of £25,476,778.30
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The "Catering Girls" have been playing together for six years at their hospital in Port Talbot, South Wales.
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They promised to have “one hell of a Christmas”.
In November 2018 they revealed that despite quitting their jobs, their lives are very much the same despite being millionaires.
Frances and Patrick Connolly who won £114.9million EuroMillions jackpot give half of it away
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