A LUCKY player who scooped an incredible £22million jackpot revealed how friends and family turned their backs on him – but he never changed.
Mark Gardiner’s life changed forever when he bagged the National Lottery prize with business partner Paul Maddison – but not in the way he thought it would.
Mark Gardiner continued running his small glazing firm after the winAlamy
The jackpot scooper is now happily married to his fifth wife BridgetRex
Mark and business partner Paul Maddison bagged the life-changing prize in 1995Rex
Despite his eye-watering windfall, nearly 30 years ago, Mark made no plans for an early retirement and continued running his glazing company.
He told the Daily Mail the job was his “safety rail” and he kept “clinging on” to his normal way of life.
“One minute I had £11 and the next minute I had £11 million and, if I’m honest, I was probably frightened.
“Nothing prepares you for it,” added Mark.
The business owner said there was “no manual” to becoming a multimillionaire overnight which was “overwhelming”.
To this day, Mark can be found overseeing his business Croft Glass, however, there is more flexibility now for the odd day off here and there.
However the 61-year-old, from Battle, Hastings, did splurge on a luxury pad, supercars, a lavish holiday home in Barbados and a yacht.
But he remained grounded, an admirable quality the winner attributes to keeping his job.
Camelot even recruited Mark to become an advisor to fellow winners.
The level-headed jackpot scooper said he would be “too honest” with people about the harsh reality of bagging a mega-prize.
He said: “The analogy I like to use is that whatever was going on in your life before — all the little seeds that are planted — the win pours water on them all and up they all sprout.”
Mark admitted he had a “small box” of problems before his windfall, which later landed a “much bigger box” at his doorstep.
FAMILY TIES
The winner said how £22million didn’t help with any of his family relationships.
He opened up about being adopted and reaching out to his biological mum before his win.
Mark also tried to get in contact after hitting the jackpot – but he received the same response from her new husband.
“He told me in a phone call that Mum didn’t want to know me then, and didn’t want to know me now either.”
But, despite telling Mark they wanted nothing to do with him, they went to the press instead.
“He never came to me directly, but he gave an interview to the papers in which he claimed I should pay to relocate them as the publicity had been very difficult,” explained Mark.
MARRIAGE WOES
Mark was also going through a bitter divorce from his third wife Kim, with whom he shares a daughter.
He had moved on with wife number four Brenda, and the pair also welcomed a daughter together.
Unfortunately, the massive win has not helped heal the dad’s relationships with his children, from whom he is now estranged.
Mark admitted he has “tried everything” to build bridges and will continue to “show how hard [he] fought for contact”.
“The advert says ‘It Could Be You’ — but say it goes, ‘This Could Be You: falling out with your sister; upset with your mum sued by your ex-fiancee.’ Are you going to run out and buy that ticket?” added Mark.
Despite his marriage woes, the winner has now found true love in the arms of fifth wide Bridget.
The couple had tied the knot years earlier, before divorcing and finding their way back to each other.
“You can’t buy a Bridget. We married too early, we both agreed that, but we knew we were for each other if that makes sense,” revealed Mark.
CIRCLE OF TRUST
After going public with his jackpot, Mark and business partner Paul were flooded with requests – even proposals.
The business owner recalled “sacks of mail” being sent to Croft Glass from family, people they barely knew from school, and “anybody from the past that felt a grievance.”
To surround himself with people he could trust, Mark splashed his cash on four pals.
He gifted them a £100,000 house each but in the end “they all fell out with him.”
Mark explained: “It was complicated.
“They got called scroungers and were picked on by their friends. You can’t win in some ways.
“If you keep your money close, you’re tight, if you buy a round in the pub, you’re a flash Harry.”
Looking back on the decision, the winner confessed he would not have bought the homes for his friends.
BUSINESS PARTNER VANISHED
Before scooping the eye-watering win, Mark and Paul had enjoyed chatting over a pint in the pub after work on Fridays.
But, things changed shortly after collecting their cheque and Paul vanished from his business partner’s life.
He relocated to a 40-acre estate in rural Scotland and failed to keep in touch with anyone for 28 years.
There were rumours Paul was broke when he passed away last year at the age of 73.
Mark said: “We’d worked together every day, we knew each other’s other halves.
“If we didn’t win the lottery, we would have been having a pint on Friday night. I don’t understand it and now I never will.”
MOVING ON
Mark continues to warn people they should be careful what they wish for.
But, despite the family heartache, losing a business partner and being ditched by friends, Mark said he has no regrets.
However, the businessman said he would “probably have invested in property rather than carry on with Croft Glass”.
And, the multimillionaire still has one final plan – to jump into the jungle on I’m A Celebrity.
“I’d love to be on I’m A Celebrity because even money can’t buy you that,” said Mark.
It comes as another lucky couple thought they’d only bagged £2.60 on the lottery – but soon discovered they had scooped the £61million jackpot.
Richard and Debbie Nuttall, both 54, from Colne, Lancashire, took home the life-changing sum in the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday, 30 January 2024.
But now, Debbie has been embroiled in a long-standing family dispute with her estranged brother Glen – who claims he hasn’t seen a penny.
The 53-year-old revealed how he found out about her staggering winnings through a newspaper article.
He told The Mirror: “My son messaged me and said, ‘Dad, I know you don’t want to know, but look at this’ and he sent me a snippet from the paper.”
Glen is currently living in a temporary accommodation with his autistic son while on benefits, he claimed.
But he doesn’t expect a penny from his older sister’s huge windfall.
He fumed: “Hang out a begging bowl? Absolutely no way.”
Elsewhere in the country, a lottery winner has hit back after being accused of pocketing a £1million jackpot after splitting from her boyfriend.
Charlotte Cox, 37, has slammed her ex-partner, Michael Cartlidge’s “rubbish” claims that he is entitled to half the massive win.
The ex-couple, from Spalding, Lincs, has been embroiled in a nasty war over who deserves the life-changing £1million payout.
Lotto Curse: Brits whose lives were destroyed
Many lottery winners have suffered huge downfalls after hitting the jackpot:
Callie Rogers
She became Britain’s youngest lottery winner when she won £1.9million in 2003.
Eighteen years after her win, Callie was found to be claiming Universal Credit after blowing her fortune. The revelation came during a trial after she was involved in a car crash while on cocaine in December 2020.
Michael Carroll
The self-styled ‘King of Chavs’ was 19 when he scooped £9,736,131 on the National Lottery in November 2002.
Carroll’s wife, Sandra, left him just a month after their wedding in 2003 after being appalled by his incessant partying, accusing him of cheating on her with sex workers.
He also racked up an ASBO for terrorising his neighbours and spent time in jail for affray and failing to comply with a drug treatment order.
By February 2010 Michael was declared bankrupt and was claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance.
He lost his entire fortune and was found working for £10 an hour chopping wood and delivering coal in 2019.
Gillian and Adrian Bayford
The couple’s lives changed in 2012 when they scooped a staggering £148million.
But just 15 months after the win, their eight-year marriage ended with both parties partly blaming stress on their mind-boggling win.
Gillian is now with fraudster Brian Deans, who was jailed for six months in 2012 after he stole £13,500 in fake refunds from Tesco.
Margaret Loughrey
She scooped £27m in 2013 and became Northern Ireland’s biggest winner at the time.
Tragically, in September 2021, Margaret, by now in her 50s, was found dead in her home.
Mark bought houses for four of his close friends but admitted he regrets itAlamy