A midwife who scooped up £1million on the National Lottery 10 years ago says people still don't know she's actually a millionaire.
During a regular break at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan in 2014, Ruth Breen checked her emails, and everything changed. Well kind of.
The mum discovered she had bagged the hefty money prize on the EuroMillions.
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Having splashed out on luxury holidays to the likes of Dubai, St Lucia and Mauritius, Breen is still working for the NHS.
“An awful lot has changed in the past 10 years but then again, not so much,” she said.
For the midwife, the lottery win came ‘at the most perfect time ever’ as it meant she could reduce her hours and have a better ‘work-life balance’.
Working part-time means she gets to do ‘fun mum things’ rather than ‘working flat out for a really, really busy service’.
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And while they’ve had these amazing holidays, the family has ‘tried to keep their feet on the ground’ which is hugely helped by working.
We’ve had great holidays, but we’ve tried to keep our feet on the ground and I think working really helps me to do that.”
She said: “The universe gifted me something incredible but you can’t take it for granted, not everybody’s that lucky.”
Buying a pair of Jimmy Choos as a first purchase, the community midwife rocks up to her visits in a BMW X3. Breen still lives in the house she bought before winning the lottery and keeps a relatively low profile as the majority of the new mums she works with don’t have a clue they’re being looked after by a millionaire.
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“I don’t introduce myself and say ‘oh by the way I won a million quid 10 years ago’, the vast majority of people haven’t got a clue and that’s the way I like it,” she said. “I’m treated just like any other midwife by patients and staff.”
As it’s now been a decade since she won the lottery, Breen has been supporting charity The Baby Room, to provide essentials for new families in Wigan.
“We all know there’s a cost-of-living crisis that’s been going on for quite some time and babies don’t come cheap,” the midwife said.
“Not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to just go out and spend however much on all the equipment they’re going to need to make sure the baby’s got somewhere safe to sleep at night or that they’ve got sterilising equipment to make sure the bottles and teats they’re using, if they choose to bottle feed, are safe and clean.”
A lottery winner, a midwife, a mum and a charity advocate – sounds like a film plot, right?
Topics: NHS, National Lottery, Money, Charity
Jess Battison