Bromsgrove mum and dad win £2 million Lotto jackpot after 18 months of hardship and grief
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A Bromsgrove couple have scooped the £2million Lotto jackpot after a "challenging" 18 months of hardship and family deaths.
Worcestershire's Andrea and Mike Law won the Wednesday October 13 draw but say they will continue working to set a good example to their two young sons.
Marketing and Communications Manager Andrea, 43, was suffering with a tooth infection on the day of the draw and hadn't checked the lottery numbers. But even after finding out, she didn't tell her 50-year-old teacher husband in case the amazing news led to him crashing the car while taking their two sons to school.
“I was in bed poorly when I checked the ticket on my National Lottery online account," recalled Andrea. "I looked at my phone and saw the incredible winning amount and just put it down – I didn’t know what to do, I was so shocked.
"Then my son came in asking where his school uniform was so I was straight up and back to reality. I sorted him out for school and he went off with my husband and I went back upstairs and checked the ticket again.
“I didn’t tell Mike straight away as he had to drive and take the kids to school. He would have ended up in a hedge, daydreaming about the win if I had told him before he left! It felt like the longest journey ever as I waited for him to get home – and the kids’ school is only four minutes away!
“When Mike finally got back, I told him I had something to tell him - my hands were shaking and he looked worried. When I said I’d won on The National Lottery, he just couldn’t grasp it and assumed it was a scam.
“I logged on to my National Lottery account on my phone to show him but he still didn’t believe me. When I phoned the National Lottery Line and the Camelot representative said ‘congratulations’ I started to cry - I was just completely overwhelmed.
"Mike only believed me after that phone call! For the rest of the afternoon we sat on the sofa looking at each other. Mike kept looking at me and grinning saying, ‘Oh my God, you’ve won the lottery!’”.
It is joy for Andrea and Mike, an art and photography teacher, after a difficult time during the pandemic.
Andrea added: “The last 18 months have been tough for us, as they have been for everyone. We have lost a number of close family members including Mike’s mum last year rather suddenly which was incredibly hard for us all. It’s made it even more important for us to make memories.
"It isn’t about houses and cars, it's about staying grounded and having a wonderful time with the people we love.”
The couple plan use their winnings towards paying off the mortgage, getting a new kitchen and holidays to Greece and Los Angeles, where they used to live.
“It’s funny as on the morning of the win, not long after finding out that I was a millionaire, Mike was saying that we wouldn’t be able to afford the new kitchen as we would have to put more money on the mortgage," said Andrea.
"I stood there thinking, ‘I am going to have my kitchen!’ but I couldn’t tell him about the win until he’d dropped the kids off.
“The win means we can pay off our mortgage, which is massive for us. We pushed ourselves to get our house and it has meant we would have to work later than we would have liked. But that won’t be an issue anymore. The huge pressure to pay off a mortgage is gone and it means we can focus on making memories instead.”
Andrea added, ““We are both going to keep working, it just means we can retire sooner, and together. We have worked so hard - we both put ourselves through university and saved for our house and we want to set the right example for our boys. Worth ethic is a massive thing for us and they know they have to go to school and work really hard.
Our youngest doesn’t fully appreciate what’s happened but the older one is very excited - he did a little dance when we told him we had won. When he was a toddler and I used to check my lottery numbers he would point to the ticket and ask, ‘mummy have we won the bank’ so when I told him about the win I said, ‘we’ve won the bank!’. The first thing he said was, ‘can we go to Greece now?"
Family members coping with the news has also provided plenty of fun for the couple.
“My sister’s reaction was priceless - she screamed the place down," said Andrea. "Her fiancé thought I was winding him up, as did my dad. When I told mum I had something to tell her, she asked if I was pregnant. Everyone is just delighted for us.”
Andrea played a Lotto Lucky Dip via Direct Debit on The National Lottery website. The winning Lotto numbers on 13 October were 4, 12, 56, 38, 8, 15 and the Bonus Ball number was 30.
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