The couple behind last week's record-breaking lottery win have officially gone public after taking home an incredible £184 million.
Hailing from Gloucestershire, Joe and Jess Thwaite won the unbelievable sum of money in the draw on Tuesday, 10th May.
After taking a few days to process their spectacular win, the pair have decided to go public to tell their story and explain how the funds will change their family's life.
Their win of precisely £184,262,899.10 makes them the UK’s biggest-ever National Lottery winners.
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Before last week's win, the UK's biggest lotto win of £170 million was held by an anonymous punter.
The Gloucestershire couple's win has been the second EuroMillions win in the UK this year - with another lucky winner taking home an eye-watering £109 million back in February.
Speaking about the win for the first time, Jess 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.
“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.”
Joe had bought the ticket at around 4pm on the day of the draw, via the National Lottery app. The next morning, Joe woke up at 5.15am to attend to the family's dogs.
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He checked his phone and saw the email from The National Lottery which read: ‘Good news, you’ve won a prize’.
“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!" He said.
Eventually, Jess' alarm went off and Joe revealed the news. In disbelief, Jess assumed Joe was wrong and concluded that it wasn’t worth getting too excited about as it.
But once The National Lottery Line opened at 8am, the win was confirmed.
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“Just like many people and families across the country, the last few years have been hard," said Jess. "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.”
Joe added: “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.”
Speaking about deciding to go public with their win, Jess said: “I don’t want to lie to family and friends, I want to enjoy it with them. Maybe, naively, I thought we could tell a few people and it would be fine.
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"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.”
The family are hoping to spend more quality time together making memories, including fulfilling a dream of going to Hawaii.
“Our two children have always talked about going to Hawaii, I’ve no idea why but we can now make that dream come true," said Jess. "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.”
Commenting on the new record-breaking win before the couple decided to go public with their story, Senior Winners' Advisor at the National Lottery Andy Carter said: "This is absolutely incredible news!
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"Last night saw history made with the biggest ever National Lottery prize won by a single UK ticket-holder, and we’re ecstatic that we’ve now received a claim.
"Our focus now is on supporting the ticket-holder through the process and helping them start to enjoy their truly life-changing and record-breaking win."
Featured Image Credit: PA/ Alamy