Woman wins £1m after partner says ‘I’m not gullible enough to play lottery’

A mother has won £1 million from a lottery ticket after her partner quipped he was not “gullible enough” to play.

Holly Saul scooped the prize in the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker draw on October 1 after a reminder from her father-in-law on WhatsApp to purchase a ticket.

The 29-year-old, from Cambridge burst into tears of joy while being told how much she had won.

It came after her partner Ben Lowther, 38, had said “I’m not gullible enough to play the lottery” in response to the WhatsApp message.

Ms Saul remained optimistic and bought a number of tickets on the National Lottery app.

The mother of two said: “We were both so shocked that I decided the only sensible option was to pour myself a G&T and Ben a Guinness, then we sat in the garden for an hour staring into space, looking at each other and giggling like children, then staring again before bursting into laughter once more.

“It was the most surreal and most wonderful time.

“I play the National Lottery from time to time, and I’m very happy I chose to on this occasion, the £1 million win is going to make a huge difference to our whole family, and what’s even better, I’ll forever tease Ben about his cheeky comment.”

Mr Lowther, her partner of eight years, has since gone on to poke fun at his comment, wearing a T-shirt with a screenshot of the WhatsApp messages with “things idiots say” on the back.

Asked what they plan to do with the money, the couple spoke of wanting to help their parents retire “sooner”.

Much to our daughter’s disgust, we won’t be trading in the Ford Focus

Ms Saul added: “Despite the craziness of the last few days, we are staying true to ourselves and the people we are.

“Much to our daughter’s disgust, we won’t be trading in the Ford Focus and I don’t intend to stop working although I may reduce my hours a little.

“Unfortunately Ben has lost his job twice, once due to the pandemic and another from redundancy. Previously Ben had a side hustle creating his own video games but now we are in a position for him to go full-time developing his latest game, Aluna Rift.

“Looking back, it’s a bit strange. For the last six months we’ve been looking at houses way beyond our means, but for some reason have been thinking it’s a matter of when not if.

“Now here we are, because I was willing to be the gullible one, we have so many wonderful options ahead and we will enjoy every last one.”