Lotto winner who blew $2.2M jackpot in eight years said she 'had a great time'
It has been nearly two decades since Lara Griffiths and her ex-husband won more than two million dollars. Despite spending all the money, Griffiths now says she has no regrets about how her family spent the money.
A lottery winner who rapidly exhausted her $2.2million jackpot in just eight years insisted she "still had a great time".
Lara Griffiths, 53, from Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, managed to deplete her entire fortune while purchasing secondhand vehicles, buying a salon, and opting for economy-class flights.
Lara, who discovered that her former spouse, Roger Griffiths, had clinched the money in 2005, described her initial reaction as "indescribable."
Nevertheless, nearly two decades later, she expresses her frustration with being depicted as a tragic figure.
Lara defended her financial choices by saying: “It’s become an overriding narrative that the lotto ruined my life. People kept saying I was stupid, pumped full of plastic surgery and needed my kids taken away. But the fact is, I spent it wisely – and I had a great time.”
Lara and Roger were happily wed when the jackpot was won, but their marriage unraveled eight years later. They invested in a £450,000 house, a £150,000 salon, purchased around 30 pre-owned cars, and acquired at least 15 designer handbags.
Lara recounted the experience as "shocking," struggling to differentiate between "good shock and bad shock." She stated, “Everyone always asks you what it’s like to win the lottery. But it’s not a tangible feeling – imagine being told you suddenly have £2m in the bank. We went on holiday to Dubai and it was lovely…We didn’t fritter money away, though.”
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While Lara worked full-time at the salon she co-owned with Roger, she opted not to draw a salary. Despite her efforts, she found herself "bored" and "unstimulated" because her true passion lay in teaching, a job she quit after winning.
By 2013, their lottery winnings had dwindled, and Roger and Lara separated. Currently, Lara resides with her 86-year-old mother, Norma, and their two daughters in a four-bedroom house. Lara expressed her desire to prevent her daughters from inheriting a "legacy" linked to her £1.8 million lottery spending spree.
She asserted, “I fully hold my hands up and accept my mistakes. I’ve spent the last 10 years making sure my children have a nice life regardless of that. But the lottery did not ruin my life."
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