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Desiree Home says she ‘couldn’t process’ the shock information and just ‘carried on’ with her day
AFTER battling cancer, ‘dying’ twice, losing her job and being forced to sell her forever home, Desiree Home was at her lowest ebb.
Then – just when she thought she was at rock bottom – her husband Wayne called her with more shocking news.
Wayne told her that he had won a life-changing £1million on the EuroMillions – days after “forgetting” he’d even bought a lucky dip.
Surprisingly, winners forgetting about their tickets is not uncommon.
A search is currently underway for the winner of another lottery ticket worth £1million that was bought in Birmingham and remains unclaimed. They only have until 20 November to come forward.
Fortunately for Desiree, Wayne finally did remember to check his numbers and claim his prize.
The couple, who have been married for 45 years and have three children, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren had experienced seven years of crashing lows, until the winning ticket changed everything.
But when Wayne rang with the life-changing news, Desiree, now 67, told him to stop mucking about.
After years of stress and strain she wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
He managed to convince her he wasn’t having her on and in fact was holding a winning ticket in his hand.
Desiree, from Maidstone in Kent, told The Sun: “Once I realised that he was telling the truth, I said, ‘OK then’ and carried on with my day.
“I just don’t think I could process the fact that we finally had some good news.”
It was only after Wayne got home from work to confirm that he’d been in touch with The National Lottery that the truth started to sink in.
She says: “He explained that he’d bought a lucky dip lottery ticket that week on his way to work and put it in his pocket and forgotten about it.
“Once he finally got around to checking the numbers a few days later he discovered it was a winner.
“It was 8am when he realised they had won but he didn’t want to disturb me as I really didn’t like mornings – and the lottery office didn’t open until 9am, so put it back in his pocket and got the train and then tube to work!
“He eventually rang the number on the back of the ticket and it was confirmed to be a winner.”
Approximately two in five UK adults have purchased a National Lottery ticket in the last year.
Ticket holders have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize.
If the money is not claimed it will go to benefit National Lottery Projects across the UK.
There are currently four unclaimed jackpots with one totalling a staggering £10.6million.
After Desiree and Wayne’s win was confirmed, they were put in touch with a team who guided them through the process of dealing with a new-found change of fortune.
And Desiree’s first purchase wasn’t a lavish holiday or fancy car, but a slow closing toilet seat.
Laughing, she explains: “At the time we were living in a mobile home as we’d been forced to sell our forever home due to financial trouble because of ongoing health issues.
“We loved living there, but you heard every single noise and the toilet lid being banged closed every time it was used tortured my head, so I treated myself to a slow closing one!”
With the new loo seat in situ, the couple set about making a bucket list, and the first thing on it was a holiday to the Maldives.
She says: “Everybody we told was elated for us. After everything we’d been through as a family, the general feeling was that we deserved some luck.
“I was 50 when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer, which required invasive surgery and chemotherapy.
“During my treatment I ‘died’ twice from respiratory failure, once on the operating table and then on the recovery ward.
“I spent 11 days in ICU with double pneumonia whilst trying to recover from the invasive surgery.
“Halfway through chemo, I developed Cauda Equina Syndrome which required spine surgery and to top it all, Wayne and I lost our jobs…
“We didn’t have any money left and were forced to sell our lovely home and move into a small mobile home.
We hit rock bottom and couldn’t see a way out – until that massive win
Desiree had always wanted to write a book and it was when she celebrated the life-changing fortune in front of the press that The National Lottery had organised, that she decided she would write her story one day.
She explains: “I’ve had an eventful life, I was in WRENS (Women’s Royal Naval Service) as a young woman, where I met Wayne, an ex-submariner.
“We then raised three children together and dealt with all the usual growing pains that family life brings before things fell apart in 2008 with the cancer diagnosis.
“That win in 2014 couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Ten years later, in October 2024, Desiree ticked publishing a book off her bucket list.
The book, titled Desiree’s catchphrase ‘And Then’ reveals the highs and lows of her life so far, beginning with her early days growing up in Tonbridge in Kent, her passion for horses and raising her family.
She also reveals her devastating cancer diagnosis left the family destitute and battling bailiffs – before six numbers on the EuroMillions changed it all.
Desiree continues: “Writing a book was on my list, along with snorkelling in the Maldives, participating in the London to Brighton bike ride and ensuring my children were financially secure.
“The royalties for the book are being split between two charities: Cancer research and Folly Wildlife Rescue.
“Wayne also bought a motorboat, but we sold it as we didn’t use it enough.
“We’ve got a caravan now and have had so many wonderful family holidays in the West Country.”
AMANDA Herrera runs a specialist concierge service The Fixer which helps National Lottery millionaires and high net worth individuals splash their cash.
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And although the couple are mortgage-free, they still work.
Desiree says: “We’re quite humble. I work as a receptionist part-time and Wayne works for an agency and takes on regular driving jobs.”
The couple bought their dream home, a converted pump house on the same site as their mobile home.
“We’ve seen first hand how hard life can be and that winning ticket enabled us to take life by the horns and allowed us to do everything we always wanted to.
“People say that money doesn’t buy you happiness, but it does buy you freedom and choice – and yes we still play it, because you never know!”
And Desiree says that they haven’t changed since their win.
She said: “We’re still the same people. Our friends are still our friends and our family are still our family.”
The win has had an impact on Desiree’s health too.
She says: “I’m not under the stress that I was before, which has helped with my health.
“It also means that we can go on holidays and I choose my working hours.
“We like simple things, such as bucket and spade holidays in Dorset with our extended family – children don’t appreciate long haul trips to the Maldives – with all the waiting around and travelling that they bring!”
And Desiree is still adding things to the bucket list.
She said: “I’d like to write another book as I think there’s more to say, and also I want to hit 70 looking like I’m 50!”
And Then by Desiree Home is out now
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