We’re millionaires after scoring massive lottery jackpot but we WON’T be quitting our day jobs
A COUPLE who are now millionaires after scoring a massive lottery jackpot have said they won’t be quitting their day jobs.
Graeme and Katherine White have told their superiors they remain committed to the police service after their EuroMillions win.
The Cambridgeshire couple, who have two kids, were out shopping when a phone call broke the big win to them.
But Graeme and Katherine have now plans to turn in their badges just yet.
Graeme told the BBC: “I also think it’s important for the children to see us working to instil a good work ethic.”
However the couple do plan to reduce their hours so they can enjoy a better work-life balance.
They now plan to move to the country and enjoy a trip to Disneyland.
Graeme said: “We always wanted to live somewhere rural with plenty of outdoor space for the children – and so we could keep some chickens and goats.”
Graeme explained that as coppers, the couple were initially suspicious that the win might not be true.
He said: “With us both being police officers we see lots of scams so we were a touch suspicious.”
Meanwhile winner Toni Henderson, 32, said that she initially thought she’d won only a tiny fraction of the cash after merely scanning her eyes over her ticket.
But even when she saw the seven-figure sum on her screen – and reality sunk in – the mum-of-one went back to work.
The County Durham woman said: “There are no words to express how you feel. I had this excited butterfly feeling having the win officially confirmed and then seeing all of the zeros in my bank account.
“You sit and think about what you’d do all the time if you won, but then, when it happens, you don’t know what to do.”
The mum plans to keep working at her payments assistant job as she wants her son to understand the importance of making your own money.
Everything you need to know about Lottery and EuroMillions
- What happens to the EuroMillions prize money if no one claims it?
- Who are the biggest UK EuroMillions winners ever?
- Who is Britain’s youngest Lottery winner Callie Rodgers?
- How many times can the EuroMillions jackpot rollover?
- Which is the easiest Lottery to win?
- What are the odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot?
- What happens when you win the Euromillions lottery?
- What are the biggest lottery jackpots in the world?
- Horoscope luck: Which star sign is most likely to win the lottery?
Curse of lotto winners
Despite hitting the jackpot, countless UK lotto winners have suffered astonishing tragedies and lost their fortunes.
Callie Rogers
Callie became Britain’s youngest lottery winner when she won £1.9million in 2003.
The 16-year-old from Cumbria gave up her £3.60-an-hour checkout job and went on a spending spree, purchasing a £180,000 bungalow and a £76,000 home for her mum.
But she ultimately blew thousands on wild parties, three boob jobs and drugs, plus around £300,000 on designer clothes.
Eighteen years after her win, Callie was found to be claiming Universal Credit after blowing her fortune.
Michael Carrol
The self-styled ‘King of Chavs’ was 19 when he scooped £9,736,131 on the National Lottery in November 2002.
The part-time binman, who was wearing an electronic tag when he bought his winning ticket, immediately bought a £340,000 six-bedroom home in Norfolk.
He spent a further £400,000 on lavish home upgrades and dropped £49,000 on a BMW to park in his drive. He most notably invested £1million in Rangers FC shares.
Michael’s wife, Sandra, left him over his incessant party boy lifestyle and took £1.4million from the divorce settlement. By 2010, he had declared bankruptcy.
Roger Griffiths
Griffiths and his wife Lara netted £1.8million on the National Lottery in 2005.
Quitting their day jobs, the couple enjoyed expensive holidays and luxury motors and also splashed £800,000 on a barn conversion in Wetherby, West Yorks.
After wannabe rock star Roger spent £25,000 making a music record, the couple divested into safer assets but the global financial crisis hit and rendered them worthless.
In 2010, their uninsured home tragically went up in flames – and all their funds dried up three years later.
Lee Ryan
Ex-jailbird Ryan scooped the £6.5million jackpot just 17 weeks after the lottery was launched in 1994.
It later emerged he was accused of handling stolen cars and was imprisoned for 18 months after his huge payout.
Once released he spent a decade enjoying his riches, even buying a helicopter and a £2million mansion but ultimately ended up penniless.
Lee was dealt his final blow when he took an ill-fated trip to Kyrgyzstan and invested the last of his winnings in property, which failed due to an economic crisis.
Gillian and Adrian Bayford
The loving couple’s lives changed overnight in 2012 when they scooped a staggering £148million.
But just 15 months after the win, their eight-year marriage ended with both parties partly blaming stress on their mind-boggling win.
Adrian shacked up with ex-horse groomer Samantha Burbidge, who ended up bolting with his money, 30 horses, a horse box, and a car he gifted her.
Gillian was convicted of attacking her ex-lover Gavin Innes. She then moved on and started dating fraudster Brian Deans, who ended up in jail, and last made the headlines in 2021 for claiming nearly £40,000 in furlough cash.
Margaret Loughrey
Margaret scooped £27million in 2013 and became Northern Ireland’s biggest winner at the time.
However, the 48-year-old later admitted the huge fortune didn’t bring her any happiness.
She told local media: “Money has brought me nothing but grief. It has destroyed my life.”
Tragically, in September last year, Margaret, by now in her 50s, was found dead in her home.
Martyn and Kay Tott
The Totts got the shock of their lives when they realised they’d won £3million back in 2001 – six months after buying the ticket.
By the time they saw an appeal for the winner to come forward, they couldn’t find the ticket.
Computer records in their local Londis proved Kay really had purchased the ticket.
But a little-known rule stipulating that lost tickets must be reported within 30 days meant they would never receive the cash – eventually putting too much strain on their marriage and causing it to break down.