Husband and wife police officers who scooped £1million EuroMillions prize thought they were being scammed before realising they’d won jackpot
A husband and wife who won a £1 million EuroMillions prize thought they were being scammed before realizing they had won the jackpot.
Graeme White, 35, and wife Katherine, 36, both police officers, were initially skeptical when they received a message on the national lottery app about their huge profits.
But then the couple, who live in CambridgeWhen they finally matched the code on their ticket with the winning line and received a confirmation call from the lottery, they realized they were millionaires.
Now Graeme and Katherine hope fortune will allow them to reduce their working hours to spend more time with their five-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.
They also plan to take the kids on a magical vacation to Disneyland and explore their dream home in the countryside, complete with a new Labrador puppy, chicken and goats.
Graeme and Katherine White (pictured), a husband and wife who won a £1 million EuroMillions prize, thought they were being scammed before realizing they had won the jackpot
When the couple, who live in Cambridge, finally matched the code on their ticket with the winning line and received a confirmation call from the National Lottery, they realized they were millionaires.
Graeme said: ‘I play EuroMillions through the National Lottery app and every now and then I get a message saying I’ve won something.
‘It’s usually a few euros, so when I saw the message I thought, ‘Great, that will pay for a packed lunch at work tomorrow.’
‘But when I opened the message it said I had £1,000,000 plus £3.30. It had to be a mistake, in my head I thought you could only win a few quid or the big jackpot.
‘I’m a bit of a joker sometimes, so when I turned to Katherine and told her we’d won the EuroMillions, she didn’t take me seriously until she saw my phone.
“Because we’re both police officers, we see a lot of scams, so we were a little suspicious. Things like this don’t happen to people like us, it just can’t be real.
The busy parents continued with their morning routine after their May 7 win as they waited for the phone lines to open.
Graeme added: ‘We both work shifts but luckily we were off that day so we decided to walk into town while we waited for the call.
‘It was very surreal, I wanted it to be true but couldn’t make myself believe it. We both laughed about our first little upgrade – as we treated ourselves to a Nero’s instead of the usual Greggs coffee.
Now Graeme and Katherine hope fortune will allow them to reduce their working hours to spend more time with their five-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.
‘While we were absent-mindedly walking around B&M, the phone rang. I took the call and the guy on the phone confirmed the win and even said, “Congratulations, you’re a millionaire!”.
‘I looked at Katherine and she was screaming and then she welled up. I don’t know what the other shoppers must have thought of us.
‘Our dream house can become reality and we can start house hunting immediately. It’s crazy to think, but our twenty-year plan has now become our twelve-month plan.’
The couple has already told their police bosses that they will continue to work but will reduce their hours.
Graeme said: “We’re only young and we both enjoy what we do, so we see no need to stop. But we have reduced our hours, which means we will have a better work-life balance.
‘I also think it is important that the children see that we are working on a good work ethic.’
They also plan to take the kids on a magical vacation to Disneyland and explore their dream home in the countryside, complete with a new Labrador puppy, chicken and goats.
Katherine said: ‘We are big Disney fans, so a trip to Disneyland is definitely on the agenda for us.
‘We are all excited to get a Labrador puppy, especially the kids.
‘We’ve already started coming up with names, and there are obviously a number of National Lottery-inspired options on the list, including Lottie and Millie.’
