It’s all about holidays and spending precious time with family for lottery winners, Joe and Jess Thwaite from Gloucester.
The ecstatic couple won the UK’s biggest ever jackpot of £184 million in the EuroMillions on Tuesday 10 May 2022 – and after a week to take in the incredible news, they revealed their plans for the future at Ellenborough Park in Cheltenham on Thursday 19 May 2022.
Jess, 44, who manages a hairdressing business 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 together.’
The world’s media descended on the five-star luxury hotel on the outskirts of Cheltenham to listen to the shell-shocked yet delighted couple share their incredible story.
Talking to TV presenter Dermot O’Leary, they said the win still didn’t quite feel real but the money would mean they can support their family, repair their new home, take a holiday abroad and give them a chance to see a Gloucester Rugby match live at Kingsholm Stadium.
They’ll also be able to give their pets a luxury lifestyle as they care for three dogs, five chickens, two gheckos and three ponies.
Joe, 49, who worked as a communications sales engineer, finished his job yesterday, while Jess will continue working for the time being.
The couple, who have been married for 11 years, admitted asking people to keep their win a secret was too much of a burden, so they decided to go public.
It’s been more than two years since the last EuroMillions record was broken in October 2019. The winner, who received £170 million, remained anonymous.
The couple’s win marks the second UK jackpot in the EuroMillions in 2022. The anonymous winner took home £109 million in February 2022.
In Gloucestershire, the biggest lottery winners to previously go public were a couple from Cirencester who scooped £56 million in 2010 in the EuroMillions, alongside a ticketholder in Spain.
