She was in her early 30s and won the jackpot. For her, everything was going very well. As she told The Mirror UK, Laure Griffin, now aged 54, was the first winner of the national online lottery. Twenty years ago, she and her husband Roger were living in Yorkshire, England, when they learned they had hit the jackpot: €1.8 million in pounds sterling.
But things quickly got worse. Unaccustomed to leading the high life, the couple, she a performing arts teacher, he an IT manager, did not even think about how they planned to spend this money. He just…spent it! “At the time, there wasn’t really any common sense. I don't even remember talking to Roger about money management. I just remember there was a lot of panic and nonsense.”Lara said.
France, Dubai, Florida… The good life, then the decline
At this time (it was October 2025), Laure and Roger were the young parents of a 22-month-old child. They blazed. Leaving their jobs, they began to travel: to France, Dubai, or even Florida… They lived the high life, that's all! They even bought a hair salon for £150,000, as well as a converted barn for £450,000.
But this wonderful life literally caught fire.
“We had a catastrophic fire”said Laure about these flames which ravaged her home and that of her husband in December 2010. It was from that moment that hell really began.
An accident that destroys everything
The Englishwoman was not present at the home when the accident took place. But his family does. “The whole place burned down while I was at work, but Roger, the two kids and the dogs were inside. It was a nightmare – we also lost all our belongings. We didn't even have clothes to wear. Our house burned for three days” she remembered.
After this tragedy, everything went down the drain. With no roof over their heads and nowhere else to go, the family took refuge with Lara's mother for eight months until the house was habitable again. It was in 2011 that everyone was able to return to the renovated house. Unfortunately, the couple formed by Roger and Lara did not last…
“I had to sell my house, my business, everything I owned”
The dramas then followed one another. In December 2013, when the divorce was finalized, Lara already had no money at all. She was then forced to make a radical decision. “I had to sell my house, my business and everything I owned. It was a real disaster. »
A disaster that she intends to repair. If, to this day, she still lives with her mother with her two daughters aged 20 and 17, she intends to get her head above water. To recover, she set up a tattoo practice in the garden. Furthermore, she does not give up on recovering ” either way “ the money she lost.
