SECRET MILLIONAIRE

EuroMillions winner Matt Topham’s neighbours ‘had no idea’ he’d pocketed £22M aged 22 -as racing-nut splits from wife

Matt and his new beau have been taking spins in his Maserati

MATT Topham was just 22 when he scooped a £45million jackpot with his girlfriend - but neighbours "had no idea" about his big win.

The former decorator was a young lad when he bagged the EuroMillions windfall in 2012 with Cassey Carrington - but the lotto curse quickly followed them.

Advertisement
Matt with new girlfriend Amy Cox on a night out in LondonCredit: Facebook
Matt with ex-wife Cassey Carrington when they scooped the EuroMillions win in 2012Credit: PA
The former couple on their wedding dayCredit: Paul Tongue - The Sun

The childhood sweethearts got hitched the same year and share three children together - but have now sadly confirmed their split.

Matt has moved on with girlfriend Amy Cox, and the pair have shown loved-up displays on ski trips and luxurious London date-nights.

The EuroMillions winner has also been spotted chauffeuring around the mum-of-three in his Maserati.

However, Amy is still living in a £130,000 house near Lincoln, which her dad owns, and driving a £5,000 VW.

Advertisement

News of Matt's millions came as a shock to neighbours, one said: “We had no idea he was a lottery winner.

"He comes around in his Maserati so he must still have a bob or two.”

Another local added: “I don’t think she has ever worked because she is busy looking after her children, who are all pre-schoolers.

“She has had a few boyfriends so it would be nice if she found happiness with Matt.

Advertisement

Most read in Money

TAXING TIMES
How to get your council tax reduced or even FREE and save £1,000s a year
SAY WATT
Energy giant to give thousands of customers bill discount tomorrow
GOING UP
Map reveals where UK house prices have risen most & least in 2024… check your area
SWEET DEAL
Supermarket giant slashes price of Roses tin by 50% and it’s the cheapest around

“I don’t know how they met. We don’t see them out and about very often.”

It is not known why Matt and Cassey parted ways, but the dad-of-three did share a message on social media which read: "Sometimes, no matter how nice, kind, caring and loving you are, it just isn’t good enough for some people.”

Quizzed on the separation, Cassey told The Sun: “Matt doesn’t live here anymore.”

Asked if there was any comment she wanted to make on the split she replied: “No, thank you.”

Advertisement

Matt has tried to keep a fairly private life after slapped with a 16-week suspended sentence in 2021.

He admitted to careless driving following the death of Mary Regler, 75, in a car crash in North Cockerington, Lincs, two years earlier.

The EuroMillions player last posted a snap of him and Cassey in July 2021 — four months after the sentencing at Lincoln crown court.

Then, last year, The Sun told how a zoo bought by Matt and Cassey in 2020 — Rushmoor Country Park in Louth, Lincs — but it had “shut down” amid financial strain.

Advertisement

It was snapped up by Matt as a £600,000 gift to his mother-in-law Jane.

He used the jackpot to fill the petting zoo with horses, pigs, pygmy goats, llamas and ducks.

The couple also bought a falconry centre to house falcons, owls, hawks and a sea eagle at the centre, which Jane had run for years.

But the venue confirmed it was now "permanently" shut down not long after.

Advertisement

According to accounts filed to Companies House, as of March 2022 Rushmoor Country Farm Park had net liabilities of £422,139.

The document also stated that creditors include more than £1m owed to director Cassey, 34, though repayment will not be sought “until the company has sufficient funds to enable it to do so”.

Four People Who Won Big & Lost It All

Many winners have been struck by the lotto curse;

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.
Matt with new partner Amy on a lavish ski tripCredit: Facebook
Advertisement
Topics
Advertisement
machibet777.com