We won £2.2m lotto jackpot then went straight back to work… now we hide car collection & refuse to fly first class
A COUPLE has revealed how they continued normal life despite their £2.2million lotto jackpot.
The lucky winners became overnight millionaires after buying a life-changing National Lottery ticket.
Shocked Colin, not his real name, told his wife he believed they had hit the jackpot bagging around £50,000 back in February 2012.
In disbelief, he stayed up late checking his numbers while she had gone to bed.
We also hide the photo collage in our kitchen of us receiving the comically large cheque at a nearby luxury hotel, as workers could hike up the price of jobs if they saw this on our wall
Lucky winner
But their lives took a huge turn when he called Camelot the next morning to confirm they had actually won a staggering £2.2million.
The couple was struggling financially, and Colin had been severely injured in a fall while his wife worked part-time as a receptionist.
The news brought them both to tears of joy as they realised their lives would be forever changed.
The wife said: “The money was in our account in less than a week. It was unbelievable to see our balance with so many zeroes.”
Despite the windfall, Colin returned to work for three years.
His wife said: “He couldn’t quite grasp that he didn’t need to work any more. And I suppose that it took us that long to fully adjust to our new-found wealth.
“It’s not surprising given we were suddenly thrust into a world where we didn’t need to worry about the size of the gas bill.”
They immediately paid off their mortgage but remained modest in their expenditures.
The humble man chose a £35,000 Mercedes-Benz Estate as his first purchase and later added a Lexus RX.
Colin then splashed the cash in a lavish collection of cars – including two Range Rovers and a Jaguar F-type.
To hide their fortune away, the couple built a double garage for £20,000 to keep their vehicle out of sight.
Although they eventually went public with their win, they soon decided to keep it private.
The lucky winner added: “We wanted to hide them when people came to quote us for jobs.
“We also hide the photo collage in our kitchen of us receiving the comically large cheque at a nearby luxury hotel, as workers could hike up the price of jobs if they saw this on our wall.”
The lucky winners have since enjoyed 21 cruises, including two world trips.
Despite flying extensively, they only flew first class once as they find it hard to justify the cost.
She said: “We’ve only flown first-class once after another Lottery winner convinced us to take the leap.
“But we’ve never done it again as my husband says he can’t justify the hike in price between business and first-class.”
Colin and his wife have also given back to the community and family buying homes for their daughters and donating to local charities.
The pair revealed they now live in a four-bedroom house valued close to £1million not far from their previous home.
It comes as a dinner lady told how she still lives in a council house and refuses to give her son pocket money despite her £1.8million lotto win.
Trish Emson, from South Yorkshire, doesn’t live a lavish lifestyle despite bagging the major prize.
Elsewhere, a woman who won a huge sum on Lottery refused to give up her supermarket job stacking shelves at 2am.
Elaine Thompson even kept working throughout the pandemic, despite being asthmatic and vulnerable.
UK's biggest lottery winners
- Anonymous winner – £195,707,000
A UK ticket-holder scooped the record EuroMillions jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.
The holder, who remains anonymous to this day, amassed the fortune with just one lucky ticket.
- Joe and Jess Thwaite – £184,262,899.10
Britain’s previous EuroMillions record holders were Joe and Jess Thwaite.
The couple won a record-breaking £184million jackpot in May 2022 and shared hopes of a Hawaiian holiday and a new horse box for their children’s ponies.
Joe bought his winning ticket online on May 10, 2022, and the following morning received an email with good news.
As he learnt of the huge win, he was in disbelief and initially kept it for himself as he did not want to disturb his wife, who was sleeping.
Joe, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two children.
- Colin and Chris Weir, £161,653,000
Colin and Christine Weir landed the colossal prize money in 2011 and were Europe’s second-biggest winners until someone in Italy won a jackpot worth £193m in 2019.
They splashed the cash at an astounding rate of £100,000 a week before tragedy struck.
But at the time of Colin’s death in December 2019, his share of the prize money had dwindled by around £40m.
He spent millions living a life of luxury, forking out for sports cars, property and the football club he supported.
Colin and Christine divorced shortly before his death after being married for 38 years.
He left money for their children Carly and Jamie.
- Adrian and Gillian Brayford – £148,600,000
Adrian and Gillian won 190 million euros in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148 million.
But Adrian split from Gillian the following year because of the stress of the win.
The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with a cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021.
After divorcing in 2013, he failed to woo ex-sausage factory worker Marta Jarosz — but fell for stable girl Sam Burbidge.
She left him in 2017, taking 30 prize horses Adrian bought.
It might have worked out in the end for Adrian though as the former postman was seen smiling with ambulance worker Tracey Biles last year.
- Frances and Patrick Connolly – £114,969,775
Former social worker and teacher Frances set up two charitable foundations after she and her husband hit the jackpot.
They scooped almost £115 million on New Year’s Day 2019.
She estimates that she has already given away £60 million to charitable causes, as well as friends and family.
- Richard and Debbie Nuttall – £61,000,000
The couple from Colne, Lancashire, took home £61 million on January 30 2024.
Both 54, they were enjoying a holiday in Fuerteventura, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
But they then discovered the big EuroMillions win.
Richard revealed they originally thought they had won £2.60, but then received another email telling the pair to check their account.
Other eye-watering anonymous winners:
- 2019 – £123million
Another anonymous winner scooped up a prize of £123,458,008 in the June Superdraw rollover.
- 2021 – £122million
Following nine rollovers, one ticketholder bagged the £122,550,350 jackpot last April.
The successful participant chose to remain anonymous.
- 2018 – £121million
Another anonymous winner found their fortune during the Superdraw jackpot rollover in April 2018, securing £121,328,187.
