Young EuroMillions Winners Matt Topham and Cassey Carrington

At the age of 22, most young adults are just finishing their studies and launching themselves headfirst into the working world. For those who don’t study, they are settling down into a rhythm of work, family, and life in general. However, some 22-year-olds, like young EuroMillions winners Matt Topham and Cassey Carrington, don’t fall into either of these categories. Let’s take a look at how this couple went from stereotypical young adults to multi-millionaires.

LIFE BEFORE THE WIN

Matt and Cassey, who had been together for three years, were living in a small £80,000 semi-detached house in Stapleford, England, at the beginning of 2012. Matt worked tirelessly as a painter and decorator, and Cassey held a job as a supervisor at a local supermarket. The two lived a modest life and did not splurge on much since they were trying to save up for their wedding, which was scheduled for September 2012.

BUYING THE WINNING TICKET

At the start of 2012, Cassey struck luck at work and won a few hundred pounds in an employee draw at work. After coming home and feeling lucky, she signed up for an online National Lottery account. She decided just to try the service out and ended up purchasing a single EuroMillions ticket for the draw that was to take place on February 7, 2012. Cassey and Matt then continued their life as usual—until the day after the draw.

UNLUCKY DAY TURNED LUCKY

The day after the draw, Matt and Cassey woke up to a pair of disasters. First, their home PC stopped working. Shortly afterwards, their washing machine decided also to stop running. Matt managed to get his PC working and was browsing the Internet for spare parts for the washing machine when Cassey received a notification on her cell phone. Checking the message, Cassey saw that the single ticket that she purchased online was the sole winner of a staggering £45,160,170.05 jackpot. Winning the jackpot at the young age of 22 catapulted both Matt and Cassey onto the lists of some of the youngest jackpot winners in the world.

REACHING OUT

Matt and Cassey immediately came forward to claim their jackpot prize. One of the first public statements that they made was to ensure all media that they would be using the money first and foremost to help out friends and family. While most probably thought that this was just something that the couple was stating to look good, the couple soon placed their money where their mouth was.

Shortly after their win, Matt and Cassey announced that they would be giving Eddie Smith, a good friend of theirs who worked as a web developer, £1 million in order to help him out of a rough spot. After Eddie announced that he would be using the money to pay off his debt and settle the bond on his mother’s house, Matt and Cassey decided to increase their gift to £1.3 million—effectively resolving all of Eddie’s present and future debt.

A MODEST LIFESTYLE CHANGE

After gifting their friend with a life-changing present, the lucky couple decided to move out of their small house to a modest but lovely £249,000 house just up the road from where they initially stayed. However, while they did not overspend on living quarters, the couple soon splashed out on fancy cars including a new Range Rover and Jaguar sports car. They married in September (as they had originally planned) and remained relatively quiet for almost two years.

THE RAINBOW HOUSE DISASTER

In 2014, after announcing the birth of their son, Archie, the lottery winners announced they had bought the old Rainbow House mansion in Nottinghamshire—a house that was used as a set in the Batman: Dark Knight movie. After paying £1.2 million for it, the couple planned to demolish the house and build a futuristic eco-house which they nicknamed the “Teletubby House.”

However, the couple quickly met obstacle after obstacle when applying for demolishing permissions for the old mansion as well as planning permissions for their ambitious new house. While fighting for planning rights, the couple allowed the house to stand empty—attracting a host of squatters and drug dealers that have all but destroyed the once beautiful mansion. In addition to ruining the house, the condition of the property and the dealings that occur in its vicinity have significantly lowered the property price in the once prestigious area—much to the displeasure of the couple’s neighbours.

WHERE IS MATT AND CASSEY NOW?

Matt and Cassey are cleverly staying out of the spotlight and not speaking to any media. However, the press continues to talk about them. In 2017, after their Rainbow House disaster spiralled even more out of control—eventually attracting the attention of the local council—the couple were granted planning permissions for their interesting house to be built. However, they are still awaiting the correct permissions to demolish the old house.

And so, the couple is continuing their lives happily while behind them stands a line of fuming neighbours, ruined mansions, and concerned city councils. But would any of that matter to you if you had millions and millions in your bank account? We didn’t think so…