“I lost everything after winning 3.1 billion won in the lottery.” “My house burned down and my husband left me.”
The story was told that a woman who won 3.1 billion won in the lottery lost all her assets through a fire and divorce after living a luxurious life, and now lives financially dependent on her parents.
According to foreign media such as Britain’s Derderer on the 17th (local time), Lara Griffith (54) married Roger, whom she met at university, in 1997 and had her first daughter, Ruby. At the time, Lara was an art teacher and her husband worked in IT.
Then one day, unexpected luck came. In October 2005, he won the UK’s first online lottery and received a huge sum of 1.8 million pounds (about 3.17561 million won).
Lara recalled the time, saying, “At around 2:30 in the morning, Roger showed me the computer screen and the winnings were displayed as 1.8 million pounds. At first, I thought it was a joke.”
After confirming that they had won through lottery operator Camelot, the couple immediately quit their jobs and began living a luxurious life. The couple traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Florida, USA, and France. He also spent 150,000 pounds (264.52 million won) to purchase a beauty salon and bought a house for 450,000 pounds (793.57 million won).
But their luck did not last long. In December 2010, about five years after winning the lottery, a large fire broke out at the couple’s home. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the family lost all their belongings and had no clothes left to wear.
The family moved between hotels and Lara’s mother’s house for eight months. The cause of the fire that started in the utility room is not yet known. The second daughter, Kitty, is said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the trauma of the fire.
In July 2011, the house was repaired and she was able to return, but Lara faced a second crisis. The relationship between the couple has become irreparably distant.
Ultimately, the couple decided to divorce. In December 2013, by the time the divorce proceedings were finalized, all that wealth had dried up.
Lara said, “There was no such thing as common sense at the time. “I don’t remember having a conversation with my husband about how to manage our money,” she said. “I had to sell everything I owned, including my home and business. It was a complete disaster. I had Crohn’s disease and weighed only 38kg at the time. But I tried not to lose my mind to raise my children,” he recalled.
Lara had no choice but to depend financially on her mother. Currently, Lara is living a new life as a tattoo artist and staying at her mother’s house with her daughters Ruby (20) and Kitty (17).
Lara experienced many hardships and adversities, but she did not give up hope. He said, “I love my life more now. “There were some really difficult moments, but I don’t regret winning,” he said. “I regret not having money anymore, but I plan to make money again somehow.”
(Seoul = Newsis)
Source: www.donga.com
