A family's dream lottery win turned into a nightmare after they won £1,000 a week for life in the early 1980s. According to a friend, the couple, who were already upper middle class, were forced to sell their home and go into hiding for over four years due to relentless demands from relatives for a share of the prize.
The friend shared on Reddit that the couple's children, aged 10 and 14, had to be taken out of school, and the family even changed their surname to escape the harassment. The friend recalled coming home to find a carload of relatives waiting to question his brother about the couple's whereabouts, describing the experience as frightening.
The situation became so extreme that the family eventually moved to a larger city on the East Coast. Commenters on the post expressed shock at the relatives' behaviour, noting that £1,000 a week, while a comfortable sum, was not enough to make someone 'filthy rich' or to lift an entire extended family.
One user remarked, 'It blows my mind how shameless people can get,' while another highlighted that the prize would provide a comfortable life but not unlimited wealth. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the unexpected consequences of winning a lottery prize.
