Our £1.8m lotto win became a nightmare – 6 years later my husband told me he had just £7… but that wasn’t what broke us
CELEBRATING with a bottle of Champagne as they picked up their whopping cheque for £1.8million in 2005, Roger and Lara Griffiths knew their lives had changed forever.
But six years later their good fortune took a drastic turn as their marriage crumbled, after Lara found incriminating emails on Roger’s computer, and their finances nosedived, leaving them with just £7 in the bank.
Now, 10 years on from their bitter divorce in 2013, former school teacher Lara, 53, works seven days a week running a tattoo parlour and make-up studio from a shed in her garden.
She tells The Sun in an exclusive chat: "I spend all my money on my two kids and I’m not complaining about that.
“We live in the house [Roger and I] bought before the lottery and I have a tattooing business which is successful.
"I work seven days a week. I love my job and I love my clients. A lot of my ex-pupils are customers. I consider myself incredibly lucky. I’ve got a nice life.”
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Lara, from Leeds, says she was devastated when former IT manager Roger left her in September 2011 after 14 years of marriage.
She claims she found emails between him and a mate that indicated that he was planning an affair with a friend - something he strongly denies.
Recalling the moment he left the family home, Lara says: "How do you process that? I had a four-year-old and a seven-year-old daughter.
“I think I just stood and screamed. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.
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"He maintained he had not had an affair and that he was planning on it but hadn't acted it out. And that it was just a catalyst for him leaving me because I was a s**t wife.
"I was really struggling emotionally because my dad had just died only recently so things were quite fractious at home. I couldn’t wrap my head around the way he handled it."
In a statement to The Sun, Roger claims he had simply fallen "out of love" with Lara and was "dreadfully unhappy”.
Lara admits their marriage was not perfect, but says they seemed happy.
They tied the knot in 1997 within six months of getting together, and she considered him to be her "best friend" despite them being "complete opposites".
She says she trusted he would never cheat on her and used to joke she could “send Roger with a prostitute and he would never turn his eye”.
Lara earned £40,000 a year as a teacher and Roger took home similar when he bought the winning lottery ticket.
Reflecting on that moment, Lara says: "It took a bit of time for the happy feeling to kick in, it was just a massive shock because you just don’t believe it.
“I thought it was some kind of prank or someone sending a crazy email. It's not what you expect."
Lara claims Roger was keen to go public with their win while she wanted to remain anonymous - something he disputes.
Both ended up leaving their jobs and Roger pursued his ambition to become a rock star, buying a pair of new guitars and recording music with his band - though they reportedly only sold 600 copies.
Soon after their windfall was publicised there were reports the couple had splashed the cash on expensive cars and homes and were living extravagant lifestyles.
Lara says they didn't spend “anywhere near” what was reported, claiming: "The cars were always second-hand. We had a mortgage on the house. And we had one holiday in Dubai."
In 2011, Lara claims Roger told her he only had £7 in his bank account.
She admits a “myriad of things went wrong”, much of which they are both accountable for, and the 2008 financial crisis hit them hard.
"We were incapable of making financial choices on our own. Something that would help invest and manage the money positively. We didn’t know how to do that,” she claims.
“We set ourselves up for a fall."
Lara claims after their split there were bailiffs turning up for debts she knew nothing about.
Roger admits he made a “dreadful mistake” by falling behind on mortgage repayments on a rental property they’d bought, which resulted in it being repossessed.
He also claims money from a beauty spa they had bought went exclusively to her.
Lara says amid their divorce, stories began circulating that she had blown their winnings on designer handbags and undergone plastic surgery - something she insists isn’t true.
"I had Botox and that was it. Plastic surgery? Absolutely not,” she tells The Sun.
“And I don't think even Louis Vuitton can spend £2million on Louis Vuitton bags.
"It just felt so personal. It was the darkest time of my life.”
Their divorce was finalised on Christmas Eve in 2013.
Lara says her adopted mother picked her up and helped with her business and children - Ruby, 19, is now at university while Kitty, 16, has just finished her GCSEs.
She insists winning the lottery didn’t ruin her life, adding: “It was great. I loved it.
"I think it's ridiculous to be given £2million and say it ruined your life. You ruin your own life, or the people around you, or the decisions that you make.”
But she does caution other young lottery winners to learn from her and Roger’s experience.
"Don't let the excitement and enthusiasm cloud your judgement," she warns. "Don't tell people you've won the money.
“Keep it to yourselves, get really good advice so you can invest it properly.”
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In a statement, Roger says: "I don’t profess to be a saint, and I made many mistakes, but leaving Lara was not one.
"It cost me everything, including the love of my eldest child. Nothing hurts as much as that, but I could not have stayed another moment in that toxic relationship… Lara just would not accept that we were going to split either with £1.8m in the bank or not.”
