National Lottery winners make surprisingly mundane first purchase

Ruth and Rob Giblin

Euromillions winners Ruth and Rob Giblin have seen their lives transformed in 12 months

The National Lottery
Dan Falvey

By Dan Falvey


Published: 19/08/2023

- 17:43

Ruth and Rob Giblin have seen their lives transformed in 12 months

A British couple who won £1million in the lottery last year have described their "relief" at no longer being stressed about money - and the very mundane first purchases they made.

Ruth and Rob Giblin won the six figure sum in a special Euromillions draw last July.


Since then they have been able to become more relaxed about their money situation and treat themselves to a number of luxuries.

From being able to take their 17-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter on their first flights, to visiting London and getting a dog, the couple from Shropshire have been able to completely transform their lives.

Ruth and Rob Giblin

Ruth and Rob Giblin spent their money initially on an eye test

The National Lottery

But their initial purchase was far more ordinary.

“I am a practical person – the first thing I bought was an eye test and glasses," Ruth told The Mirror.

“I do still have pinch myself moments and some days I go back to when we couldn’t afford much.

"I remember not wanting to pay for a gondola trip in Venice because it was €80.

NATIONAL LOTTERY WINNERS:

A National Lottery kiosk in a newsagent in north London.

The couple said the win has helped them afford new luxuries

PA

"It seemed a bit of a rip-off.”

She added: "I can treat the kids and they can look forward to holidays, something we’ve never been able to do for them."

Meanwhile, Rob said the money had allowed him to quit his job as an engineer and retrain as a teaching assistant.

The 49-year-old said winning the lottery had allowed him to try something new without having to worry about the size of his income.

He explained: "I had the car serviced and needed new tyres; I told them to carry on.

"Last year, I would have been in bits. The relief the win has given us is amazing.

"Without it, I’d have stayed in my job until I retired, never trying anything else."

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