The £33m Lotto couple’s girl ... and the world’s unluckiest ex-boyfriend
FOR Grant Robinson, splitting up with his girlfriend will probably be the most expensive mistake of his life.
That’s because the 28-year-old used to go out with Lisa Martin – whose parents have just won half of Britain’s biggest Lotto jackpot.
To add to his misery, Mr Robinson’s friends are teasing him on Facebook. One posted a photograph of him looking shocked, writing: ‘When you realise your ex-girlfriend’s parents [have] just won £33million on the lottery!’
Others were quick to join in, with one commenting: ‘Coulda been driving about in a Ferrari, Robbo!’
Mr Robinson, originally from Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, near where Miss Martin’s parents David and Carol live, now works in Canada.
He went out with Miss Martin, 26, around seven years ago, friends said. She moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 2011 and is a recruitment manager.
Mr Robinson was unavailable to comment yesterday, but appeared to be taking the teasing on the chin. He changed his Facebook profile picture to the photograph his friends mocked him with.
Mr and Mrs Martin, both 54, of Hawick, scooped £33million on Saturday. The jackpot was shared by two tickets, but the other winner has not yet come forward.
Miss Martin was yesterday thought to be flying back to the UK. Asked which section of the aircraft she would be sitting in, she said: ‘I’ll be at the pointy end’ – first class. She told radio station 3AW she did not have a boyfriend, to which the show’s host said: ‘Well, they’ll be lining up now.’
Miss Martin’s mother told her about the win as she drove to work in Melbourne. She said: ‘It is so surreal – I’m still not sure if I really believe it yet. At the moment I’m in a dream world, even though I found out about it on Monday. Yes, it was a bit of a shock.’
When her mother asked her to pull over the car, she had thought that it was bad news. ‘I thought someone had died or something like that,’ she said. ‘Then she said “We’ve won the lottery” and I said, “Shut up!” I thought then that it was going to be a couple of hundred thousand but she then said: “It’s £33million.”’
A stunned Miss Martin said she spoke to her mother for about ten minutes – before hanging up so she wouldn’t be late for work.
A record US lottery jackpot of $1.6billion – about £1.1billion – has been shared by three winners. Their identities have not been revealed, but the Powerball tickets were bought in Florida, Tennessee and Los Angeles. The odds of winning the enormous prize were 292million to one.