National Lottery winner working as a nurse 10 years after win admits: 'A lot has changed'
Ruth Breen is still working as a midwife 10 years on from her EuroMillions win
PA
A midwife who won the National Lottery 10 years ago is still delivering babies a decade after becoming a millionaire.
Ruth Breen, now 45, was on her lunch break at work at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan in 2014 when she opened her inbox and discovered that she had won £1million on the EuroMillions.
Fast forward to 2024 and Breen is still working for the NHS, though she now drives to work in a BMW X3.
She has also splashed out and enjoyed “great holidays” to luxury destinations including Dubai and Mauritius, though still continues to live in the same house.
Ruth Breen is still working as a midwife 10 years on from her EuroMillions winPABreen said: “An awful lot has changed in the past 10 years but then again, not so much.
“The win came at the most perfect time ever. It allowed me to reduce my working hours, giving me a much better work-life balance.
“I’m really lucky that I only work part-time. That’s enabled me to spend much more time with my daughter doing fun mum things instead of working flat out for a really really busy service. We’ve had great holidays, but we’ve tried to keep our feet on the ground and I think working really helps me to do that.”
The mother-of-one says that most of the new mothers she works with are unaware that she is a millionaire: “I don’t introduce myself and say ‘oh by the way I won a million quid 10 years ago’, the vast majority of people haven’t got a clue and that’s the way I like it.”
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Breen has also splashed out and enjoyed “great holidays” to luxury destinations including Dubai and Mauritius since her win
PA
She says that most of the new mothers she works with are unaware that she is a millionaire
PA
Her first purchase following the jackpot win was on a pair of Jimmy Choos.
She said: “I nearly cried when I was paying for them in Selfridges because I couldn’t believe I was actually able to purchase this and I had the money to do it. It was a little bit overwhelming.
“That collection’s a little bit bigger now, I don’t cry as much any more!”
The mother-of-one is marking the 10 year anniversary by supporting the town’s The Baby Room scheme for those in need of necessary infant care items.
Breen is celebrating the 10 year anniversary by supporting the town’s The Baby Room scheme
PA
She said: “We all know there’s a cost-of-living crisis that’s been going on for quite some time and babies don’t come cheap.
“Not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to just go out and spend however much on all the equipment they’re going to need to make sure the baby’s got somewhere safe to sleep at night or that they’ve got sterilising equipment to make sure the bottles and teats they’re using, if they choose to bottle feed, are safe and clean.”
Alison Wakefield, who set up the community interest company in 2022 after having her youngest child, said: “Without our support we'd have babies that were sleeping on the floor, they wouldn't have a safe space to sleep - we'd have them sleeping in drawers, we'd have babies using nappies more than once.
“It's an essential service that is definitely needed. Without us, people would be going without and babies would be going without.”
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