Lottery winner revealed severed relationship with family despite frequent generosity
By Kate Northrop
The Scottish winner of a £148 million (US$187 million) EuroMillions lottery jackpot has revealed that she is no longer speaking to her family despite giving them £20 million (US$25.3 million).
A major Scottish lottery winner of a £148 million EuroMillions jackpot has cut ties with her family after they reportedly tried to take advantage of her generosity.
In 2012, Gillian and Adrian Bayford made headlines for being the sole winners of a £148 million EuroMillions jackpot, after which they were bombarded by requests for cash by strangers who heard the news.
One year later, Gillian was back in the limelight when she and Adrian parted ways, blaming the collapse of their nine-year marriage on the stresses that their massive jackpot brought. However, they ended things amicably and agreed to evenly split the winnings.
Gillian met her new partner, Alan Warnock, when she and Adrian had visited an Audi dealership to buy five luxury cars for herself and her relatives – including her parents, her brother, and his girlfriend.
Despite her generous gift, as well as "bailing them out of every debt," Gillian revealed this month that she and her family are no longer speaking.
Immediately after coming into the win, Gillain started paying off £700,000 (US$884,684) in debts that her father and brother had accumulated from failed business ventures. While the money was "supposed to make everyone happy," she said in 2016, it had instead "made them demanding and greedy."
"That was the first thing we paid for," Gillian elaborated. "Adrian's family had to wait weeks, but my parents and brother were first. They got their cars and houses before anyone."
She had also given her parents, who were living in a caravan, money to buy an apartment in Carnoustie, a beautiful town on the coast of Scotland. Nine months later, Gillian's parents came back to her to ask that she give even more money to her brother.
Gillian agreed and gave him £800,000 (US$1 million) to start a new playground business. He lives in a £288,000 house, drives Audis with private plates, and even married his girlfriend. In return, he stopped talking to Gillian.
"They [my family] have lost touch with where they've come from," she had told The Sun at the time. "They're rubbing people's noses in it by flashing their cash, which I think is downright nasty."
She alleges that her father has since tried to assume control over her share of the fortune even though she had willfully been helping her family out with their financial issues. According to Gillian, the falling out happened because of a story in the paper that embarrassed her parents.
"I can hold my head up because I know I've taken them out of a situation," she told The Sun. "They brought our name into disrespect in the village, and we had people threatening to torch the family house. My dad and brother built up one company after another and then closed them down. I've bailed them out of every debt."
Cut them loose. You have done enough. They are ungrateful and greedy.
Oh those miserable, jealous family members will try to contact Ms. Generous.
Keep disowning them. Change your phone #, block them, whatever, just zero contact.
Just unbelievable reading this! Had to read it twice. Those bottom feeders can crawl back under the rock permanently. Burning bridges is not wise. Blood is not always thicker than water as she can attest to.
my takeaway from this story: a great way meet rich women for love and marriage is to work at an audi dealership.
work at any audi luxury car dealership
you mean
And just how many of us, here at LP, know family & friends exactly like Gillians' relatives ?
They will contact you again soon but they haven't built up enough debit. Keep your father away from your money, hire a investment firm to manage your money and protect it for you. Stop worrying about them and take a years long honeymoon and throw your phone in the Ocean.
This is why it is essential and paramount winners able to and are claiming their prize anonymously or via a trust. Poor lady. Endless horror stories of winners' lives being ruined by those around them.
I am so glad that I live in a State that allows one to collect their winnings anonymously without even having to set up a Trust etc.
I think people normally have good intentions when they tell family and relatives and close friends about their winnings.
Unfortunately, you cannot tell how someone will react until after the fact. So suddenly a loving spouse or partner can become this nightmare of a person.
The great uncle or great aunt can turn into something else. Friends and even kids alike can change.
So really there is no knowing how money may affect the relationships that you have with all these great people until when lots of money gets in the equation .
So the million dollar question is - is there a way out? The easy answer is, don't play the lottery. But again, I want to play and hopefully win something big.
Well, I know this may sound mean, and some may quote laws and stuff, but should I win, I am not telling anyone, not my spouse, not the kids, no one.
Will I give them a good life, definitely I will, nothing flashy no Audis or BMWs but a comfortable existence.
I will come up with something, anything, I bought bitcoins when they were 10 bucks, or some other far fetched idea like maybe I work for the CIA and I get lots of money for buying information from underground networks and I get to use some of it however I wish, lol.
I hope you get the idea 🤣🤣
When all the meaningful relationships that you have all crumble down just because of the green paper, then you would ask yourself, was winning the jackpot even worth it?
I would make up events a little just to have normal relationships and a normal life.
Speaking for myself not the whole LP so don't try to change me 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
to those that pay attention and thar respective knowledge of your bad habits
Coming from Deutschland to Ft. Monmouth NJ '92 to the small hospital there. Michael Jordan's Brother was an E7 @ the time in another unit. His beautiful wife who I didn't really interact with worked as a Secretary for the O.R. There were no pictures of Michael anywhere. All I can remember is she drove a very fancy car. It's all about keeping things in perspective, but money many times brings out the ugly in folks who don't have it.
Though KY is not an anonymous state, you can request that. Guess folks get their jollies that a couple of times folks went through the channels to find out who they are. The point of that is beyond me...jealousy/envy, IDK!
Money changes relationships. I can see buying a home or paying past medical bills for family members in real need but tossing expensive things at them is not the answer. It will never be enough.
I think I mentioned a college friend of mine (comes from a well off family who paid cash for her home) who always tells us she will take care of us if she wins a huge jp. I always say who do you know that is in financial distress? None of us need being "taken care of" and I have certainly done very well. I would never want anyone paying my way for anything in life. I told her I would not accept more than a fancy coffee drink. Lol I just never had that entitled philosophy.
It's all about keeping things in perspective, but money many times brings out the ugly in folks who don't have it.
As a winner you may totally try to keep things in perspective, however those that surround you could be the source of your misery and best if they don't know.
Two loving couples exchange marriage vows, 30 or 40 years later they are filing for divorce. When they exchanged their vows they did not envision such a day, but somehow they find themselves in a divorce court 40 years later. It's hard to predict human behavior, loving and caring people become killers etc.
That's why for me, I would just keep it under wraps - I don't want to tempt fate 🤣🤣🤣
* No idea whether this " story" is true or not, but it was told to me years ago & it goes like this. A person won a massive jackpot & knowing the financial tendencies of his family put this offer to them.
* Here are 6 sealed envelopes: One for each of you, from Mom & Dad all the way down to the siblings. If you pick up the envelope, it becomes yours and on opening it, be assured that is all you ever going to get from me with love. If you reject the sealed envelope without picking it up, we'll that's your choice. So, take a leap of faith, and make your decision.
* it may or may not have worked in this case for Gillian, but it would have been worth a try.
There is a TV investment lady from FL, I think it is Suzanne Orman (?) or something close to that. She discussed the lottery and said with her wealth what she does is direct these bottom feeders to her Accountant and he just says NO!