Roger and Lara Griffiths: £1.8m in 2005, a house fire, and nothing left by 2013

Roger and Lara Griffiths, a West Yorkshire couple, won £1.8m on the National Lottery in 2005. Lara, a teacher earning £40,000 a year, left her job the following year.

The money went on a barn conversion, a £150,000 salon where Lara worked, cars including a Porsche and a Lexus, designer handbags and holidays in Dubai, New York and Monaco. Roger put £25,000 into making a record with his old university band.

On New Year's Eve 2010 a fire that began in the utility room gutted their home. They were under-insured and had to pay for somewhere to live during seven months of repairs. Soon after, Lara found emails that led her to accuse Roger of an affair. He denied it, but told her he had borrowed against the house and the money was gone. Their 14-year marriage ended, and by 2013 the winnings had run out.

In 2023 Lara, then 53, was living with her two daughters and her mother. She said she accepted her mistakes but was tired of being cast as a tragic figure, and that the lottery had not ruined her life.

A sudden win is not a plan. If gambling is causing you problems, BeGambleAware.org offers free, confidential help.

Sources

• ITV News (archived): The unlucky lottery winner who lost everything (web.archive.org)
• Yorkshire Post (archived): Yorkshire lottery winner who spent all her money says she still had a great time (web.archive.org)
• HuffPost UK (archived): Times winning the lottery went wrong (web.archive.org)