A British couple were today revealed as the winners of the biggest-ever EuroMillions jackpot - taking home a staggering £184million.
Joe and Jess Thwaite, 49 and 44, went public today in Cheltenham as they celebrated their huge win - the pair scooped £184,262,899.10 and are now the UK's richest-ever National Lottery winners.
Jess says the inspiration behind their win is her late father, who always played before he passed away.
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Jess, who manages the business side of a hairdressing salon she runs with her sister, said: "My dad played the National Lottery all his life and constantly dreamed of winning. He'd always ask us what we'd do when we won, how we'd spend it, who we'd treat. It was a regular conversation and I feel like he was preparing us."
When Jess’ father passed away around seven years ago, Joe took on the mantle of playing The National Lottery.
"The win gives us time to dream which we haven't had before," Jess said.
"We’ve had one week to think about this and we now have time to share lots of experiences and go on adventures with our family and friends.”
The couple, who have been married for 11 years, have two primary school age children.
Joe, a communications sales engineer, also has two children at university from a previous marriage.
Joe said: "The family always ask me if I have a ticket for the big draws. While I don’t play every week, I do a Lucky Dip when there is a big jackpot. Although I don’t feel like I’ve had a lot of luck in the past."
Jess continued: "Plenty of times Joe has said to me that he’s not lucky enough and I should do it.
"I’m so glad he carried on, and while my dad had prepared me, I’m not sure anyone is really prepared for a win like this."
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GloucesterLive reports that when Jess first told her sister she had a 'secret,' the response was 'are you pregnant?'
"It's better than being pregnant," Jess joked.
The couple had bought their EuroMillions lucky dip ticket on the National Lottery App and received an email the next morning saying there was good news regarding their ticket.
Joe said: "I looked it up and saw we’d won. I saw how much and I didn’t know what to do.
"I couldn’t go back to sleep, I didn’t want to wake Jess up so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!"
Eventually the alarm rang and as Jess struggled to turn it off Joe told her: "I’ve got a secret, I’ve got something to tell you."
Jess’ initial reaction when presented with the news was disbelief, thinking Joe had it wrong, the National Lottery app was wrong or that it was a joke.
Eventually she concluded that it wasn’t worth getting too excited about as it probably wasn’t true and got up to make a coffee and start their normal morning routine.
The couple called Camelot once The National Lottery Line opened at 8am and promptly had the life-changing win confirmed.
