In 2012, Adrian Bayford and his wife Gillian won £ 148.6 million, equivalent to $ 200 million in EuroMillions. (AFP)
A big smile, a glass of champagne in hand and a big check with the amount they never imagined they would have in their hands: 200 million dollars. If one usually dreams what could be done with a million, Gillian and Adrian Bayford, the British couple won the EuroMillions jackpot in 2012, seemed to have happiness forever assured. However, they couldn’t bear the weight of the money, and almost a decade later, everything fell apart.
Bad decisions, failed investments, internal disputes and allegations of abuse surrounded this couple, who was 41 at the time and had two children, with clouds. turning everyone’s dream into hell. It’s been 10 years since the incredible situation went viral in the last few weeks.
“I was watching the news when they announced that one person had won the EuroMillions, but Gillian confessed that she didn’t have time to buy a ticket,” said Adrian days after winning the first prize, when everything was huge. illusion .
They separated and she went to live in Scotland.
He had been responsible for the couple’s triumph as he had bought the winning ticket. The same night he got the millionaire, he began to investigate, including phone calls to relatives, on what to invest his new fortune.
Hopefully, the British couple planned to buy a new home, a car, tour the US Rockies by train, travel with their children to Disney, and donate a portion of the prize to children’s charities. She quit her job as a cleaner at a hospital in England, while Adrian chose to continue working in the music shop he owned in Suffolk County, pretending that this award would not change his life. Even if he wasn’t.
She was associated with a psychologist who reported her for abuse, she is now married to a former prisoner.
Things changed rapidly a year after becoming millionaires, Gillian and Adrian decided to separate. Their love broke up and after the decision to end the relationship, the woman decided to leave the family home in Suffolk and return to her native Scotland with her two children.
There he made irregular decisions with his fortune: in 2016 he created a real estate fund in which he invested millions of dollars with the aim of acquiring several houses, but he only has debts and financial problems.
Adrian has opened a movie and record memorabilia shop. In turn, he has decided to buy 38 houses to rent and obtain an income. However, the investment brought him problems. In 2016, a disabled tenant claimed the man was evicting him because he wanted to raise the rent by $ 340.
On that occasion Adrian defended himself through social media: “The people who criticize me and who don’t even know me have no idea who I am or what I do for people. Yes, I was lucky. I try to help everyone I can, but I don’t want two bad cents to ruin my life. “
The palace they bought with the luscious prize that is now in ruins and up for sale.
Then he failed again with his gastronomic adventure in which he bought a coffee shop that had to close due to losses. close to $ 170,000.
Now, the 49-year-old man has been wanting to sell a succulent mansion for two years and can’t get the money. He had an offer for the villa last year, but it went bankrupt and is now back in the real estate market. Bayford bought the mansion, which has seven bedrooms and three lounges, nine years ago.
He moved home 18 months ago in November 2019 and bought a house in Scotland so he could be closer to his ex-wife and children. The house has remained empty since then and in August 2020 he was forced to increase security after the squatters started using the pool and gym.
The palace has been in ruins for three years and is up for sale.
Her first partner after separation was Gavin Innes, a psychologist who has treated male victims of domestic violence. In 2017, the man had reported her three times for several cases of physical abuse during their relationship.
According to Gillian’s allegations, she it hit him up to three times between August and October of that same year.
Adrian Bayford turns 49 today.
Shortly after ending her relationship with Gavin and going through a gender-based violence trial, Gillian remarried. It was with a big party where she celebrated her love Brian Dean, a former schoolmate eight years her junior. The striking fact is that the man had been in prison for trying to steal € 15,700 from a Tesco, one of the largest supermarket chains in the country.
Source: Clarin
