We boasted we’d won £182m on EuroMillions but were ‘disqualified’ for devastating reason – everything came crashing down
A COUPLE bragged they’d won a hefty £182million on the EuroMillions but were “disqualified” for a devastating reason.
Rachel Kennedy and boyfriend Liam McCrohan, both from Herfordshire, had played the winning numbers for five weeks straight before they eventually came up in a draw.
Rachel was notified by the National Lottery app that her regular numbers had come up and were a “winning match,” which made her think she had got a big win.
The business student told The Sun in 2021: “I went on the app and it said ‘Winning Match’ and I thought ‘Oh my God, I’ve won.’
“So I called my boyfriend Liam and my mum into the room and they couldn’t believe it either.”
But their excitement didn’t last long when they realised that Rachel’s ticket payment hadn’t gone through because she didn’t have enough money in her bank account.
Rachel said: “I called the number thinking that I had won £182million and they said ‘Yeah you’ve got the right numbers but you didn’t have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket.
“I was on top of the world when I thought I had won but when I found out I hadn’t, Liam was actually more upset than I was.”
While Rachel had been fairly relaxed about the apparent win, economics student Liam was already working out how to spend the vast fortune.
He said: “She was quite relaxed about it but I had kind of spent it in my head already.
“I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard the man on the phone say we hadn’t actually bought the ticket.
“I was already picturing our dream house and the dream car, I think I was getting a bit carried away to be fair.
“On the app it really made it look like we had won because it comes up in orange and it says winning match.
“When you looked at it and it was her usual numbers it just really looked like she had won and I got a bit carried away.”
Rachel thought the numbers they had been playing with for weeks were unlucky and so changed them for the following draw back in 2021.
She said: “We’ve played these exact numbers for about five weeks in a row now.
“I actually have two sets of numbers that I use. One of them is birthdays of family members and stuff, but the ones that were the winner were just random numbers that I had clicked one day and had been using ever since.
UK's biggest lottery winners
By Ethan Singh
- 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 the 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 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.
“We’re absolutely not going to keep using those numbers now, I’ve already changed them.
“I’ve never won anything before, we’ve just got the worst luck when it comes to stuff like this.”
Liam took to X, then called Twitter, to post about their bad luck and it quickly gained the attention of other social media users.
He said: “Initially I just posted it so my friends could see. I’ve only got like 120 followers but then it just blew up and I think it’s got over 31,000 likes now.”
Rachel added: “I was too embarrassed to post anything about it.”
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk