The biggest-ever lottery winners in Britain have revealed their identities.
Joe and Jess Thwaite, a couple from Gloucester, won £184m on the EuroMillions last week.
They went public at a news conference today.
Couple to share some of their plans for spending their winnings – follow live updates
The couple said they bought their EuroMillions Lucky Dip ticket for the massive draw on The National Lottery App and so the next morning received an email saying they had good news about their ticket.
Mr Thwaite said he was working on Tuesday and by 4pm he thought he “better buy a ticket” because he was aware of the jackpot.
He said he regularly buys tickets, adding: “I normally buy them when it’s a good amount, so when there’s a lot of money I’ll put it on. I use the app, and have a quick check a couple of times a week and I’ll put it on.
“But generally my luck is pretty terrible, to be honest with you.”
His wife said: “He tries to convince me to buy them thinking I’ll have more luck, but actually it’s him.”
She added she had been worried about going public, but added she wants to “enjoy” the prize with her friends and family.
The next morning Mr Thwaite got up as usual at 5.15am to sort out the couple’s dogs, before then checking his phone and saw the email from The National Lottery saying, ‘Good news, you’ve won a prize’.
He 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 Mrs Thwaite struggled to turn it off Joe told her, “I’ve got a secret, I’ve got something to tell you.”
Her initial reaction when presented with the news was disbelief, thinking her husband 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.
Mr Thwaite, who is a Communications Sales Engineer, has been married to Jess for 11 years.
They have two primary school-age children, and Mr Thwaite has two children at University from his previous marriage.
The couple added they want to take time to do things which up until now haven’t been possible.
Mr Thwaite said, “I’d love to watch Gloucester or England rugby live with the kids but we have only really been able to watch on TV. I’d love us all to get on a plane and go on a holiday, somewhere sunny.
“It’ll be great to spend more time with my brother. We both work really hard and rarely see each other, it’ll be amazing to now be able to spend time together.”
Mrs Thwaite said, “Our two children have always talked about going to Hawaii, I’ve no idea why but we can now make that dream come true. They have always wanted a horse box for our ponies rather than the run down trailer we use. Just to see their faces when we can make these things come true will be worth every penny.”
Mrs Thwaite, who manages the business side of a hairdressing salon she runs with her sister, said: “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 and go on adventures with our family and friends.”
She revealed that she was more prepared for the win than many, thanks to her father. She 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’ve kind of been ready to win for years.”
Image: The couple were handed a cheque by TV presenter Dermot O’Leary
When her father passed away around seven years ago, Mr Thwaite took on the mantle of playing The National Lottery. 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.”
The winning EuroMillions numbers were 3, 25, 27, 28 and 29 – plus the Lucky Star numbers 4 and 9.
Their total win was £184,262,899.10.
The record was previously held by an anonymous ticket-holder, who won £170m in 2019.
