MANY of us dream of scooping millions – but is it really a life of photoshoots, lavish beach holidays and shopping sprees?
Despite winning the jackpot, countless lotto winners have suffered , from the breakdown of their marriages to blowing it all on drugs.
Callie Rogers made headlines when she became Britain’s youngest ever lottery winner at just 16, scooping an incredible £1.9 million in 2003.Credit: PA:Press Association
Lee made headlines when it emerged he was accused of handling stolen cars and he was subsequently imprisoned for 18 months after the payoutCredit: National Lottery
It certainly is a curse that winners of the new £ will be keen to avoid.
The new UK Powerball will give Brits the chance to compete with US players for a slice of a £1billion pot.
Here are seven tragedies of people who hit the jackpot and became millionaires overnight – before their luck ran out.
£2k on cocaine A DAY
The self-styled ‘King of Chavs’ was just 19 when he scooped £9,736,131 on the National Lottery in November 2002.Credit: Rex Features
Michael was found working for £10/hour chopping wood and delivering coal in 2019Credit: Michal Wachucik/Abermedia
The self-styled ‘King of Chavs’ was just 19 when he scooped £9,736,131 on the National Lottery in November 2002. Michael Carrol, who was working as a part-time binman, was wearing an electronic tag when he purchased the winning ticket, before he .
Not content with the property, the young winner spent an additional £400,000 on a series of upgrades, including a swimming pool and a car track in the garden. Michael also splurged around £1million on shares in his beloved Rangers FC and £49,000 on a BMW.
Michael’s wife Sandra, left him just a month after the couple tied the knot in 2003, after being appalled by his incessant partying. His former wife also accused him of cheating on her with sex workers, eventually walking away with £1.4million in a settlement.
He suffered a stint in jail for failing to comply with a drug treatment order, and by February 2010 was declared bankrupt and claiming .
Michael was found and delivering coal in 2019 after he had lost his entire fortune.
Splurging out on surgery
Jane Park was just 17 when she scooped the eye-watering £1million prize in 2013, becoming the youngest ever Brit to win the EuroMillionsCredit: Jeff Holmes
Looking back at her life after scooping the life-changing sum, Jane revealed that winning the million actually cursed everything for herCredit: Rex Features
Jane Park was just 17 when she scooped the eye-watering £1million prize in 2013, becoming the youngest ever Brit to win the .
At the time of her win, the then-teenager was working as an admin temp making £8-an-hour, and was living in a two-bedroom Edinburgh council flat she shared with mum Linda.
However, things took a turn for the worse when after her win and splurged £4.5k on a boob job from 34B to 36FF and another few thousand on a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) in Turkey.
Jane was left fearing for her life after having a severe reaction to the anaesthetic and in 2017.
She said at the time: “I’m in absolute agony, I know the saying is pain is beauty, but this is horrific.”
Two years later, she where she flogged topless pictures of herself, followed by more plastic surgery to get her “ dream body ” with liposuction and a corrective BBL.
Looking back at her life after scooping the life-changing sum, Jane revealed that winning the million actually cursed everything for her.
Speaking to the Sunday People , she said: “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 most tragic lottery win of all time
Margaret Loughrey won an astronomical £27m in 2013 and became Northern Ireland’s biggest winner at the timeCredit: Pacemaker
Unfortunately, Margaret did not have much time to enjoy her fortune – she died aged 56, nearly eight years after her winCredit: Pacemaker
Margaret Loughrey won an astronomical £27m in 2013 and became Northern Ireland’s biggest winner at the time – but according to Margaret, the huge fortune didn’t bring her happiness.
She said at one stage: “Money has brought me nothing but grief. It has destroyed my life.”
Unfortunately, Margaret did not have much time to enjoy her fortune – she died aged 56, nearly eight years after her win.
A year after matching five numbers and two lucky stars in 2013, Margaret was sectioned at Derry’s Gransha Hospital after being told she was “a danger to herself and others”.
She splashed out on a mansion named The Barn and renovated it, , even though she did not drive.
Tragically, Margaret never lived in lavish mansion and was found dead at a tiny £130k bungalow in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland in September 2021.
“I regret winning the lottery, of course I do,” Margaret had said. “I was a happy person before. I am a human being and all it has done is destroy my life.”
Destroyed marriage
Gillian and Adrian Bayford’s lives changed overnight in 2012 when they scooped a whopping £148millionCredit: Andrew Styczynski – The Sun
In the decade following their divorce, Gillian became a mum at 48 with another manCredit: The Sun
Gillian and Adrian Bayford’s lives changed overnight in 2012 when they scooped a whopping £148million.
However, the new lifestyle put so much strain on their relationship, their eight-year marriage was, unfortunately, destroyed and eventually .
Both Gillian, 52 – a hospital cleaner at the time of winning – and struggling record shop owner and postman Adrian, now 55, blamed the stress from their mind-boggling win as the root cause of their divorce.
In the decade following their divorce, Gillian became a mum at 48 with another man, purchased a £1.2million mansion and launched a property business.
“As far as [my daughter] is concerned, I’m not a lottery winner, I’m just mum,” Gillian told . “Some things are easier because of the money but it doesn’t really change anything.
“You still have to change a nappy or deal with her being sick on you regardless of how much you’re worth.”
Meanwhile, Adrian shacked up with ex-horse groom Samantha Burbidge, who was 16 years his junior. However, after three years together, she along with with 30 horses, a horse box, and a car he gifted her to get back together with her ex-boyfriend.
In 2018, his new partner after she found saucy emails he’d sent to an ex. The following year, Gillian was during their relationship, which ended in 2017.
His former wife Gillian tied the knot with fraudster Brian Deans in 2018 – however, this marriage also didn’t last, as the pair went their separate ways seven years later.
The multi-millionaire mum gave her freeloading hubby £5million over the years – but Brian, 43, who was jailed for six months in 2012 after he stole £13,500 in fake refunds from , got nothing when they divorced in 2025 .
Ending up penniless and homeless
Lee made headlines when it emerged he was accused of handling stolen cars and he was subsequently imprisoned for 18 months after the payoutCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Chatting with The Sun in 2024, Lee revealed he was working as a painter and decorator to make ends meetCredit: Rex
One of the most well-known stories is that of ex-jailbird Lee Ryan, who won the astronomical on November 14, 1994.
Lee made headlines when it emerged he was accused of handling stolen cars, and he was subsequently imprisoned for 18 months after the payout, making him the first British lottery winner to end up behind bars.
Following his time in jail, the multi-millionaire then spent a decade living the high life, splashing his incredible winnings on luxury cars, a £235,000 Bell JetRanger helicopter and a mansion worth £2million.
He had his , , and all personalised with the licence plates LEE 1, LEE 2, LEE 3, LEE 4. Lee also went all out on two Ducati superbikes, as well as a £125,000 plane.
Sadly, the joys didn’t last long as the former prisoner ended up penniless, spent two years living on the street and shacked up in a tiny flat in London he shared with homeless mates.
“The money was cursed because I took the p**s out of God when I asked him to make me a multimillionaire. My cellmate warned me to be careful what I wished for,” he said.
Chatting with The Sun in 2024, Lee revealed he was working as a painter and decorator to make ends meet and told us: said: “Apart from death you can’t get much more rock bottom than being homeless, so I tested myself and it’s all good.
“Sometimes even now I spend my nights in tents just to remind myself that I’m bomb-proof, I’ve gone through it all.
“Now I’m just looking for that middle ground where you still have to strive for what you want, rather than just having it handed to you.”
What are my chances of winning the lottery?
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, 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 , 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 .
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.
Fairweather Friends
Within a month of netting the lottery Callie, who was in foster care after leaving home when her biological parents split up, had bought a £180,000 bungalowCredit: PA:Press Association
But after years of misery, it seems that Callie has finally found happiness after welcoming her fifth child last year – and new love with a gas engineerCredit: Facebook
Callie Rogers made headlines when she became Britain’s youngest ever lottery winner at just 16, scooping an incredible £1.9 million in 2003.
It wasn’t long until Callie gave up her £3.60-an-hour checkout job and set about splashing the winnings on three boob jobs, wild parties, plus around £300,000 on designer clothes.
Within a month Callie, who was in foster care after leaving home when her biological parents split up, had also bought a £180,000 bungalow and a £76,000 home for her mum.
The teenager also gave away £500k of the lottery winnings to family and friends, but soon realised some were just using her, leaving her with “trust issues”.
“I was a local celeb, and people would come up to me in pubs as if they were my best friend, and I felt pressure to buy them all drinks. I didn’t know who to trust,” she said .
“It was too much money for someone so young,” she told Closer Magazine.
“Even if you say your life won’t change, it does and often not for the better.”
She later described the win as a “curse” which, unfortunately, drove her to consider suicide. “I took paracetamol and sleeping tablets. Fortunately, my family found me and took me to hospital,” she said.
Eighteen years after her win, Callie was found to be claiming after blowing her fortune. The revelation came during a trial after she was involved in a car crash while on cocaine in December 2020.
But after years of misery, it seems that Callie has finally found happiness after – and .
Financial crash catastrophe
Before the netting the £1.8million prize, Roger had worked as an IT manager and Lara – as a performing arts teacher, however, both quit their jobsCredit: SWNS
Lara, who retrained as a tattoo artist, was forced to pitch up in her mother’s house after parting ways with Roger following a house fireCredit: Glen Minikin
Roger Griffiths and his wife Lara scooped an epic £1.8million on the National Lottery in 2005. Before netting the prize, Roger had worked as an IT manager and Lara as a performing arts teacher; however, both quit their jobs.
Like the majority of winners, the pair couldn’t resist the temptation and enjoyed the high life, going on a lavish spending spree, splashing £800,000 on a barn conversion in Wetherby, West Yorks., along with flash cars and five-star hols in Dubai, New York and Monaco.
Roger also spent an additional £25,000 making a record with his old band from Lancaster University. The couple invested in property and a beauty salon – but sadly, the financial crash saw the value of their portfolio plummet.
Much like their , everything came falling down in December 2010 when was subject to a “”. This disaster was made worse by the house being underinsured.
By 2013 the huge sum of cash had gone and the two had split up, each blaming each other for the reversal in their fortunes.
Roger said: “When you’re told you’re a millionaire, it feels limitless. We had played the Lottery for years – when I found out I’d won, it was overwhelming.”
Ever since, the mum-of-two has been forced to pitch up in her mother’s house, for the first year too, .
Lara, who retrained as a tattoo artist, said: “I love my life now. OK, I’ve been through some really , but I don’t regret winning.”
“I regret not having the , but I plan to make it back somehow.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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