Imagine having the freedom to never worry about paying bills again - and within moments that freedom is snatched away because of the most minute technicality.
A young couple from Hertfordshire thought they had played the winning EuroMillions jackpot numbers and had just won a whopping £182million.
Rachel Kennedy, 19, and Liam McCrohan, 21, were on cloud nine after Rachel's regular number picks were a 'winning match'.
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Rachel told LADbible in 2021: "I logged onto the app cause I saw that man who called up and didn't realise he had won money but won millions, so I thought f*** it I'll do the same.
"It said 'Winning match on the 27th Feb'.
"I called up and the woman said, 'Yeah they're the right numbers, but you didn't put any numbers on this week'.
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The couple were devastated to learn that Rachel's ticket payment had not gone through.
Because Rachel did not have enough money in her account to purchase the winning-ticket, it meant that the possibility of buying their 'dream house and dream car' were taken away within moments.
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The University of Brighton student didn't buy a ticket because she was snowed under with uni work.
She said: "I use those exact numbers every time, but this week I was stressed with uni work so completely forgot to buy a ticket."
However, somehow remaining to stay positive, Rachel said: "Everything happens for a reason though, we're no richer or poorer than we were this morning.
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"Hopefully it goes to someone who is in desperate need for it.
"Although it's sad, I think we'll get over it pretty quickly - not that he [Liam] was getting any of it anyway!"
Boyfriend Liam also told The Sun back in 2021: "I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard the man on the phone say we hadn’t actually bought the ticket.
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"I was already picturing our dream house and the dream car, I think I was getting a bit carried away to be fair.
"On the app it really made it look like we had won because it comes up in orange and it says winning match.
"When you looked at it and it was her usual numbers it just really looked like she had won and I got a bit carried away."
Rachel added: "We’re absolutely not going to keep using those numbers now, I’ve already changed them.
"I’ve never won anything before, we’ve just got the worst luck when it comes to stuff like this."
The 19-year-old said she was 'too embarrassed to post anything about it' on social media, while Liam was quick to share their unlucky lotto incident on Twitter, going viral in the process.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Rachel KennedyTopics: Euromillions, Money, UK News