Botched bums, death and divorce – biggest EuroMillions winners and curse of cash

A UK ticket holder has just become the next EuroMillions winner – the biggest payout in the country's history.

The lucky lottery winner will be taking home £184 million, enough money to buy them four Caribbean islands.

It is also more than the entire net worth of footballers Harry Kane (£33 million) and Paul Pogba (£64 million) combined, a mind-boggling amount of money.

The huge sums of a EuroMillions lotto win are nothing more than a mad dream for many of us, with the chance of ever winning just 1 in 117 million, but for some it has become a reality and completely changed their lives forever.

Winning the EuroMillions has not been without its fair share of controversy, so where are some of the previous biggest UK winners now and what have they done with the extra millions in their bank?

Jane Park – £1 million

It doesn't seem right to think of £1 million as a small amount of money, but in EuroMillions world, this is peanuts.

But Jane Park, who walked away with this sum in 2013 aged just 17, has not held back with her winnings.

From buying cars and clothes, Park splurged over £50,000 on plastic surgery but nearly had to fight for her life after a bum lift went horribly wrong.

She told the Sunday People: “I have material things but apart from that my life is empty. What is my purpose in life?

“I wish I had no money most days.”

Since collecting her winnings, she now calls Liverpool home after leaving an £8-an-hour job in Edinburgh for Dubai during lockdown.

Colin and Christine Weir – £161 million

Colin Weir and his now ex-wife Christine won a whopping £161 million in 2011.

The pair became Scotland’s biggest ever winners and wanted to put their millions into good causes.

As a big Partick Thistle fan, Colin Weir donated vast sums to his club and had hopes of it being more of a community run football club.

He also passed on lots of his money to his children and set up The Weir Charitable Trust, as well as splashing out on himself in the form of cars, jewellery and a swanky £1.1 million mansion in Ayr.

However, in 2019 he split from his wife Christine and, after battling illness for some time, died from sepsis three months later aged 72.

He still made room for giving even after his death as he saved money for a lobster feast for those at his funeral.

Frances and Patrick Connolly – £115 million

The Northern Irish couple took home this dizzying sum on New Year’s Day 2019.

The retired teacher and businessman initially thought it was a scam but celebrated with a cup of tea when they realised it was real.

They decided to make a list of the 50 people and trusts they wanted to give their money to and even bought laptops for kids who had no access to education during lockdown.

The generous pair revealed last year they have donated over half of their money to close family, charities and others in need.

Frances Connolly told the BBC: “This has been an absolutely manic whirlwind and a total, total joyride from start to finish.”

Adrian and Gillian Bayford – £148m

Husband and wife EuroMillions winners Adrian and Gillian from Suffolk took this vast sum home in 2012, but they have not been strangers to controversy since bagging the cash.

Just over a year after holding the big cheque, they had divorced after the winnings got between them.

Before divorcing, the couple splashed the cash on a huge £6 million country mansion.

After the breakup, Adrian Bayford decided to head back to work and set up his own music business with a shop consisting of the world’s largest collection of Lady Gaga memorabilia.

In 2017, he faced terror when robbers raided his home and stole in the region of £100,000 of goods.

Gillian Bayford suffered a spat of public controversy when her own dad claimed he had not been given £20 million by his daughter as she had advertised and was instead just given a measly one million.

Dave and Angela Dawes – £101 million

The winners of this huge pot of cash in 2011 have had an action-packed few years courtesy of their huge lotto result.

Shift supervisor Dave and charity volunteer Angela Dawes were keen not to be too selfish and were quick to share with close family and friends.

They have set up a charity and have reportedly handed out upwards of £30 million since they won.

However, after their £4 million mansion, which used to belong to Tom Jones, was raided with them being tied up by the robbers, they needed extra security and were scared for their lives.

The thieves nicked around £20,000 cash from their Range Rover as well as some of their flashy jewellery.

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