Featured Image Credit: ITV
Topics: Money, National Lottery, UK News
Brenna Cooper
Turns out the person who came up with the phrase that 'money doesn't solve all your problems' may have actually been on to something after all.
Most of us Brits have probably spent at least some of our spare time daydreaming about quitting our jobs, splashing out on a mansion and riding off into the sunset should we ever win the jackpot - but be warned, as life doesn't always turn out that way.
One person who's more than qualified to warn about the pitfalls of becoming an overnight millionaire is Callie Rogers, who was just 16 years old when she won a whopping £1.875 million back in 2003.
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At the time Callie was making just £3.60 an hour at her local Co-op in Cumbria and living with foster parents, which meant her huge winnings brought a life-changing reversal of fortunes.
Nearly 22-years on from the win and Callie's life is drastically different and it's fair to say she's had quite a rollercoaster ride since then.
After cashing the cheque Callie wasted no time in upgrading her day-to-day life and splashed out half a million on homes for herself as well as places for friends and family.
She reportedly spent a further £550k on clothes, tattoos and travelling other the years as well as money on numerous cosmetic surgeries, including £18,000 on boob jobs.
However, it wasn't long before Callie began to experience the less savoury side of winning the lottery.
She was soon greeted by the outstretched hands of people looking to cash in on her win - money that she would never see back.
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"People asked for money for new cars and I would help out. I was a soft touch," she told The Mirror in 2019.
"Now I realise what they were like. I was exploited because of my age. I had a lot of fake relationships."
Callie added: "I would give money to distant relatives and friends of friends. I loaned £20,000 here, £13,000 there. I would never get it back."
It was reported that Callie spent a further £250,000 on cocaine - something she has denied - before eventually going bankrupt.
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"Overnight I went from carefree child to adult. All these years on, it still gets dragged up," she told The Mirror.
"It preys on my mind, what a new partner's family will think of me, or even new friends. I still get abuse just because of who I am."
Now 37 and a mother of five, Callie has since gone back to school and trained as a carer. She previously argued for the government to raise the minimum age in which a person can purchase a lottery ticket, arguing that she was proof it was dangerous to allow children to win so much money.
The UK Government would later raise the minimum age from 16 to 18 for all lottery players.
Camelot, who used to own the National Lottery, previously said it had offered Callie 'extensive support' over the years.
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A spokesman said: "She didn't take up the independent financial and legal advice offered by us.
"However, our winner's team fully supported her and helped her to handle media interest. We will continue to support Callie in any way we can if she wants."