Brit couple who won £184 million in the Euromillions go public

19 May 2022, 11:42 | Updated: 19 May 2022, 11:48

By Polly Foreman

Joe Thwaite and his wife Jess scooped up a record-breaking £184 million in the largest lottery jackpot in UK history.

A couple from Gloucestershire have gone public after becoming the biggest ever UK lottery winners.

Joe and Jess Thwaite took home £184 million in the Euromillions jackpot, after matching all seven numbers plus the lucky star.

Mr Thwaite, 49, bought the winning ticket last Tuesday afternoon on the National lottery app, and woke up to an email the next morning.

After seeing that he'd won, Joe browsed property site Rightmove with the price filters turned off while he waited for his wife to wake up.

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When Jess did wake up, Joe told her: "I've got a secret, I've got something to tell you." She was initially in disbelief, and carried on with her morning routine until they confirmed the news.

They said that their win would give them "time to share lots of experiences and go on adventures with our family and friends".

Joe works as a communication sales engineer, while Jess runs a hairdressing salon with her sister.

He said: "I looked it up and saw we’d won. I saw how much and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t go back to sleep.

"I didn’t want to wake Jess up so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!"

The winning numbers were 3, 25, 27, 28 and 29, and the lucky star numbers were 4 and 9.

Joe and Jess have beat the previous record-holder of £170 million, the winner of which chose to remain anonymous. Only 14 players have ever won a jackpot of more than £100 million.