Britain's biggest ever lottery winners went public today and paid tribute to the loved one who helped them get ready for their life-changing win.
Joe and Jess Thwaite scooped a record-breaking £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket on May 10.
Hairdresser Jess, 44, said: “My dad played the National Lottery all his life and constantly dreamed of winning. He would 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.
“Maybe that is why I seem so chilled, as I have kind of been ready to win for years.”
When Jess’s father passed away seven years ago, Joe took on the mantle of playing the lottery.
Joe, 49, said: “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.”
The pair revealed their first big ticket purchase was a wardrobe.
The couple, who have just moved to Gloucester, said they decided to splash out on a new bedroom set as the news they were richer than pop star Adele sank in.
They revealed their new house had a leaky roof. But though they have browsed mansions online, they are still deciding whether to move or stay put and improve the house they have just bought.
Jess and Joe, a communications sales engineer, have been married for 11 years and have two primary school-aged children. Joe has two older children from his first marriage to Sara, with whom he is on good terms.
Joe said he had already handed his notice in at work, and planned to trade in his dented Hyundai for “something that does the job” – perhaps a Skoda Superb as he is “quite boring with cars”.
A trip to America could be their next big purchase.
Jess said: “When we told our youngest two children, ‘If you could have anything in the world now that we have this money, what would you want?,’ both of them said a holiday.
“We don’t go on holiday, they have ponies and everything goes into them.
“So my youngest said she wants to go to Hawaii. We have no idea why Hawaii, but we think it’s YouTube.
“When we said she could go to Hawaii she was just jumping up and down with joy.
“Our eldest wants to go to America and do a ranch drive on a pony... now we can invite the rest of our family.”
The couple said their financial situation is “not horrendous” but the cost of living crisis had affected them, especially with animals including ponies, geckos, chickens and dogs to look after.
Joe said his ex-wife, a midwife, had congratulated him on his win and that it meant their children’s time at university would now be much easier.
He added: “She was over the moon... obviously we keep in contact and we had a good chat.”
A neighbour said Sara, who works at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, was being evicted from her rented house as the owner was selling up, and hoped Joe would decide to buy her the property.
Mike Parnell, 66, a former neighbour of the couple in Pendock, Worcs, said: “I couldn’t be happier for them, they’re genuinely nice people.
“I was quite sad when they moved away.”
A worker at the Age UK charity shop next to the Blow Hair and Beauty salon owned by Jess and her sister Rebecca in Tewkesbury, Gloucs, said: “They’ve got a problem with pigeons next door, they’re always doing their droppings all over our alley, so hopefully they can sort that out now.
“But in all seriousness, they seem lovely and good luck to them.”
Mike, who runs Tewksbury Cards and Gifts opposite, said: “They’re lovely and the staff are great.
He joked: “The odds of two people in the same street winning are astronomical, so the rest of us may as well give up now.”
The jackpot record was previously held by an anonymous ticket-holder who banked £170m in October 2019.
The Thwaites’ win is the second EuroMillions jackpot in the UK this year – the £109m prize from the February 4 draw was claimed a few days later.
