The National Lottery has made more than 8,000 millionaires, handing out a staggering £103billion in prize money – but it hasn’t been a happy ending for all jackpot winners
The National Lottery has created more than 8,000 millionaires or multi-millionaires since its first draw in November 1994.
Its various games, including EuroMillions and Set For Life, have made some people rich beyond their wildest dreams. But there are downsides to striking it lucky.
Britain’s youngest winner Callie Rogers and bin man Michael Carroll, notoriously nicknamed the ‘lotto lout’, were declared bankrupt after squandering their winnings.
Roger and Lara Griffiths, and Adrian and Gillian Bayford, were among those couples who won the lottery but saw their marriages later come crashing to a halt.
Winners adviser Andy Carter has passed on his wisdom to more than 2,500 people for the last 20 years. One of his main tasks is making sure people don’t ruin their lives after coming into money.
He spends his time speaking to lucky winners after they scoop anything from £50,000 to £195,000, and he says there is one simple reason why some marriages end.
Andy told the Daily Mail that coming into money will just shine a spotlight that are already present in a relationship.
He said: “Sudden wealth will exaggerate how you are. So if you are very happy in your marriage, you’ll have a lovely time. And if you are having a difficult marriage, it gives you something else to be difficult about.”
Adrian and Gillian Bayford were among those to split after winning a huge jackpot. Former postman Adrian won a staggering £148million, the second biggest lottery jackpot in UK history at they time it was won in 2012.
The couple split after nine years of marriage just 15 months after their life-changing win.
Adrian and Gillian are just one of three couple in the UK’s top 10 jackpots who have gone public – and two of those marriages did not last.
Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs, North Ayrshire, in Scotland, won an incredible £161million in July 2011. They split eight years later, after almost four decades together, and Colin died less than a year after that.
According to Andy, the biggest mistake winners can make in the days and weeks after a payout is “trying to be too generous” with friends and family.
It is natural for people to come cap in hand if someone they are close to has just come into a large sum of money.
National Lottery operator Allwyn now provides a financial planning service with experts who help winners make calculations for the future.
Andy explains that while winners might want to give a large sum of money to a son or daughter, a solicitor might advise them to consider whether this is a wise move.
He also suggests that many people who had their lives ruined by hitting the jackpot probably didn’t have the support that is available now.
The National Lottery has handed out a staggering £103billion in prize money.
