To be blubbing watching the live news conference with the couple who have won £115 million in the new year lottery?

[drivinmecrazy]

It maybe a cliché but watching the Irish couple who have won the lottery thinking that it couldn't have happened to nicer people.
They seem so genuine. Taking about the biggest joy is going to be helping family, friends, their communities and charities.
Usually don't get caught up in these stories but I think I'm slightly in love.
Their personalities just seem to shine through.
I wish them great happiness and joy spending the money.

If you won squllions you would move you wouldn't stay in your street well i wouldn't

good for them winning i wo9uld never ever go public-some people have had to leave the country because of the begging they get

No way would I go public, but if people asked how I could suddenly afford to give up work, buy a bigger house, new cars etc, I'd stick as closely to the truth as possible by saying we'd had a decent enough win on the lottery to allow us to make a few changes but decline to say how much.

And then I'd get drunk celebrating and announce it to all and sundry...

No way would I ever go public. Can you imagine the people that would come crawling out of the woodwork wanting a handout? People you haven't spoken to in years suddenly wanting to be best mates? Estranged family members getting back in contact?

Nope!

Obviously, if you live in a council house, it’s going to be impossible to conceal a big win, but if you already have a comfortable middle-class life with a nice detached house, new cars, nice holidays etc etc it would be much easier to upgrade your lifestyle further over a reasonable timescale.

Obviously, if you live in a council house, it’s going to be impossible to conceal a big win

Well, only from friends and family, who you would probably tell anyway.

Your neighbours and vague acquaintances would never have to know because you'd just be gone.

If you won squllions you would move you wouldn't stay in your street well i wouldn't

And disown all your family and friends too, to keep it secret?

Of course not. It can never be completely secret and these things have a habit of getting out. Perhaps they thoughtit was more controllable this way.

And I repeat, no I would not go public

To the PP who are asking why they went public it’s because the lottery offer support and advice both financially and counselling for those that agree to go public. It’s free advertising for the lottery company and the winners are guiding through their new lifestyle.
Those who choose to keep it secret are literally handed the money and given no objective help with what to do with it. Many have been ripped off by dodgy financial investors or solicitors etc

I think if you play it cool you could get away with people not guessing but some winners must go nuts with it all that money must mess with your head.

I'd imagine that Camelot would make sure television appearances put them in a good light too.

Let alone the people you thought were friends GreenMeercat. I can only imagine how odd this sort of cash makes some people

I always think it is a shame when you could have had ten people win £10million each rather than one person who really does not need £100million!

Or even 20 people win £5million each. Better than only one person winning and probably having their lives fucked up in one way or another.

Am I missing something? It just seems such a waste to me.

I don't think I'd bothered by old friends/family members asking for stuff. Maybe because I'm so good at ignoring people. Plus I would move and get a new phone number, so only my family and close friends would know how to contact me anyway.

I think they're absolutely mad to go public. No reason they couldn't donate anonymously.
I hope it works out well for them but it's hard to envisage.

I wouldn’t have gone public, I would struggle with all the people begging for money (which they will get), I hope they get a lot of support as it’s going to be hard.

I am really pleased for them though, it’s a awful lot of money, I hope their family and close friends beniffit from their win, I know if it was me there’s a few people I would be helping and the joy it would bring to be able to help would be amazing.

@WhoPooped

You are completely wrong. I suggest you read the previous posts on this thread...

Now lovely. They are from a bit of N Ireland where we have some relatives. They seem very nice.

I don't enter so I won't win and my 1960s premium bond has never come up once - I live in hope. However if I did I am not sure I would go public but it is always interesting when people do so. It would not be too hard for me to hide it and I don't think I'd move. I would probably buy £8m of property for each of the 5 (adult) children and £2m in trust for each of them for the property upkeep and any of their chidlren's educational costs so £10m each. In fact the more they get the better for inheritance tax purposes (and on condition they got pre nups).
i would keep the other half at least to start with.

Can you imagine being splashed all over the news like that awful Bayforth(?) couple? Having your life scrutinised and picked over by the daily mail? Fuck that! I’d tell friends I’d won a couple of hundred thousand but I’d only tell family the truth before I gave them loads!

Going public with someone like this would absolutely ruin your life.

I think it would be nigh on impossible to keep that kind of money secret

I do know of someone who won a very significant life changing amount who has managed to.

I handle mail for a very very rich celebrity and I would never in a squillion, trillion, kerbillion years go public with a lottery win.

The sheer self entitlement and cheeky as fuck requests we get on a daily basis would blow your minds. We’ve had plans for houses (just need £500k to build it), hundreds of ‘you have too much money so it won’t hurt you to give me some’ type requests, invoices for school fees sent to us directly , PayPal requests - usually with a ‘I’m a big fan and I need help please send me money’, long winded tales of woe that can go on to almost novel size and thousands of smaller requests. Some can be threatening as well.

The barrage is daily and we are trained to deal with them but for a normal person who has no experience of this it would be hugely intimidating. My ‘celeb’ is a very generous person and it infuriates me when they are accused of “letting my child die” because they didn’t instantly forward £1m to their fund.

*nb donations ARE often given but only after a thorough vetting process and contact with the hospitals involved. Rarely do they happen through passive aggressive emails - we are usually contacted via genuine charities who put forward worthy causes.

I can imagine a normal person (who has no assistants to filter this shite)would find this sort of thing very traumatic. I hope Camelot protect this couple because I really think they have no idea of the shitstorm they have coming.

I didn't say it was impossible. But it must be hard

I honestly think big lottery wins are a terrible poisoned chalice.

How much nicer it would be to have, say, an extra £50,000 or £100,00 per year for life? In my case that would be £3.5 million max. I'd be quite happy to settle for that .

ComfortablyGlum

I don't suppose they could spare £10k for a new bathroom for me could they?

It's amazing isn't it, some people's brass neck

Just seen that the the Daily Mail has already published a picture of their house!

I really can't grasp why anyone would want to go public with that kind of win.

I can imagine a normal person (who has no assistants to filter this shite)would find this sort of thing very traumatic.

I dunno. If I won 115 million I'd either hire an assistant to filter the shite, or just throw it all in the bin without reading it. Ain't nobody got time for that!