The UK's biggest-ever Lottery winners have detailed how they carried on with their normal routine after finding out they had won a whopping £184million jackpot. Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, scooped the record-breaking amount with a Lucky Dip ticket on the draw last week.
Joe, 49, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, 44, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two primary school-aged children. Joe bought the ticket at around 4pm on the day of the draw via the National Lottery app, which means that your ticket is automatically checked for you and you get an email when you win a prize.
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The next morning Joe got up as usual at 5.15am to sort out the couple’s dogs. When he checked his email there was one from the National Lottery saying ‘Good news, you’ve won a prize’. He said that he saw how much and "didn't know what to do" so decided to wait until his wife work up.
"I looked it up and saw we’d won," he said. "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!” When the alarm went off and Jess woke up, he told her had a "secret" to tell her.
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, so she got up made coffee and started their normal morning routine. They called The National Lottery Line when it opened at 8am and had the life-changing win confirmed, but despite being told they’d just become the UK’s biggest-ever winners, carried on with the school run and started work.
Jess, who runs a hairdressing business with her sister, did phone her mum to meet up before work. When she confessed the win, her mum started screaming. “She knew exactly how much right down to the ten pence," says Jess. "She had meant to ring Joe the night before to check he had a ticket and had forgotten. I told her it might not still be real but she was having none of it! She said, ‘If Camelot have told you, then it’s real!’."
The couple, who have struggled to pay for holidays and days out in recent years, now plan to support members of the family, and say the sense of relief from knowing that everyone would be alright moved them to tears. Jess said: “Just like many people and families across the country, the last few years have been hard. My sister and I have tried to look after the business and the 20 staff, but times are difficult in hairdressing. Joe has been working hard and we have always tried to put everything into doing the best we can for the children."
The couple have only recently moved into a new home, which has delivered on the dream they always had for their children. Despite needing a lot of work, the new house gave the family space for friends and loved ones to visit, as well as space for their collection of animals. With three dogs, five chickens, two geckos and three ponies, two of which are loaned, the couple wanted to give their children a country-type lifestyle.
Jess said: "I was lucky enough to ride growing up and it is something we have always wanted to give to our children. Like many parents, we stretch ourselves to give our kids everything we can. I always wanted them to be able to get up in their pyjamas, put wellies on and go out and feed the ponies and they can do that here. The fact the roof leaks and the house needs renovating was okay as it was the life we dreamed of for our family.”
Joe said, “I have been working hard and then doing DIY on the house and you realise that you are missing out on family time. This win gives us time. From 5am each day we are chasing our tails until we go to bed. Just like any family, the diary is always full and the job list is long. We don’t have money for family days out or holidays and we want to use our good fortune to spend more time together making memories and going on adventures.”
The couple said they had decided to share news of their win so they can get on and enjoy their new and exciting life. “I don’t want to lie to family and friends, I want to enjoy it with them," says Jess. "Maybe, naively, I thought we could tell a few people and it would be fine. But the list gets longer and soon you realise it would be a burden asking them to keep it quiet. Telling people makes it easier."
Jess added: “The win gives us time to dream, which we haven’t had before. We’ve had one week to think about this and we now have time to share lots of experiences together.”
The couple have taken top spot in The National Lottery Rich List. They have pushed the anonymous £170million winner from October 8, 2019 into second place. The winning numbers in the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday May 10, 2022 were 03, 25, 27, 28, 29 and the two Lucky Stars were 04 and 09.
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