Translated by the young and miserable lottery winner Zhang Bao 2018.8.18

Kelly Rogers lived with her boyfriend Grey Federer and adoptive parents Brian and Sheila Holmes in 2003, living in Cocomouth, Cumbria, and working in a cooperative. But is a troubled 16-year-old girl capable of using that huge sum of money? Should a teenager be put in that position? "I don't think any 16-year-old can win the lottery because at that age, you're not ready for anything." You cannot engage in any form of gambling until you are 18 years old. Isn't it the same with lotteries?"

"When I bought a house, I didn't have any idea about the responsibilities involved in buying a home. I didn't even know how to pay my bills because I had never had this experience and I didn't know how to pay my taxes. ”

"I just want to say that people under the age of 21 should pay their money to the winner in stages, as they do in the United States, after winning the lottery. ”

However, even today, Kelly is not very familiar with how to deal with money. While she was being interviewed, there was a knock on the door, she opened it, and a lady came in and talked to her about money. I asked her, "Somebody came to ask you for money?" and she said, "It's okay, you need to pay for these sofas." But I lost my card. I'm going to classify my borrowings. She joked, "I always lose my bank card." I'm a little dizzy. I said, "You are indeed so dizzy that you have lost £1.8 million." ”

However, it is also understandable, after all, she was manipulated by others. "I didn't squander it all in one year, I spent it in nine years," she said. Then look at the guy named Michael Carroll (another famous lottery winner who squandered his fortune) and spent all of the £9.7 million he had won. ”

Kelly adds, "I did have some living expenses at that time. I mean, at that time, I was too much attention to go out to work, so it was a lot of money. But people don't understand that. ”

Still, the losses beyond the norm are always staggering.

"Yes, I lost it, but that doesn't make me a loser," she said, "and I'm trying to provide for my children right now." I may not have that much money, but I'm a happier person. People may not believe it, but it's true. I've never been interested in money. ”

To understand what went wrong with the UK's youngest lottery winner, you have to look back at how far Kelly has come.

Her life experience is not normal, to say the least. When she was very young, her parents began to separate. Her mother was an alcoholic, and Kelly described herself as an "angry teenager" and ended up being cared for by her mother. Ironically, on her 16th birthday, her life finally stabilized and she began living with her adored adoptive parents, Brian and Sheila Holmes.

"Looking back, I'm really happy. I have a job (she works in a local co-op and earns £3.60 an hour). When I get paid, I hang out with my favorite mates. I spend a lot of money for them, so they think I'm good. ”

But that all changed one night in June. That night, Kelly sat at a friend's house, checking the lottery numbers.

"I think I hit five numbers, but I can't believe it. Now, how she wished she had only hit five numbers instead of six. "It's going to be a manageable amount," she said. ”

Even so, all signs are very bad. Kelly recalls, "My boyfriend called everybody on the phone and said he had won the £1.8 million jackpot. We hadn't been together for long then. I was going to say to him, 'Man, you didn't win anything. If she had had a more stable family background, her current outcome might have been very different. But what she did later was, in hindsight, a disaster.

She wore a miniskirt, attended a press conference and was publicly declared the youngest lottery winner in the UK. Why did she declare "yes" in public?

"I didn't claim that," she insisted. "I don't know if there's another option. As soon as I opened the front door, the photographer was there. Since then, I can't walk on the streets anymore. ”

In the weeks that followed, her memory was blurry. She said that a man named Camelot came with a £3,000 suitcase and helped me open an account with a private bank. When the money appeared on the bank card, Kelly didn't even react as quickly as Blackpool. But suddenly, she went on vacation to Greece with her mother. It's a disaster. "I hate it. I wanted to go home, Camelot arranged for me to come back, and I remember that I was in first class, which was my first and last time. ”

"And I hate being there. The guys were all in suits, and I was wearing jogging bottoms. I guess what I'm here for?"

Soon, she bought a house for herself and her mother, and then began distributing money to her wider circle. When she says "friend", she uses her fingers to make false quotes that sound like locusts are falling. "It's all my fault. There was a guy who said he owed £13,000 and that if he didn't pay it back, he would be in trouble, so I gave him £13,000. I give people £200 here, £300 there, sometimes more. ”

I asked, "Is this a gift or a loan?" and she shrugged. She didn't leave any records. "My grandparents recently cleaned up and brought me a box of things," she said. There were some old checkbooks in it. I couldn't believe all these checks I wrote to other people. ”

"I remember sitting in my room drinking, and someone was using my card to buy an Apple laptop. ”

So, is that the only group of people who make her lose money and money? Of course not, and the boyfriend she chose is also very questionable. In August 2003, she met unemployed Nicky Lawson, the father of her first two children. Together, they were spending the money. Among them are to do one or two breast augmentations, have an abundance of holidays, more cars, buy clothes for the kids. And there were drugs, and at that time, she was portrayed by some as an out-of-control cocaine addict. "I've never been addicted," she said. I see it as something entertaining. But in reality it's much scarier than I thought. ”

She refused to accept the £250,000 sum she could not provide the exact amount spent on all the items. There may be a factor here that keeps her away from blame, but she says she's never been interested in money and just wants to "make people love me" by spending money. When I asked her what good times money had brought her, she had to stop and think about it.

"I mean, of course, there are some," she said. I'll never forget being able to take the kids to Disney, it was amazing. Diving in the coral reefs of the Bahamas, it was so beautiful. But deep down, I'm really not happy. The problem is with myself. ”

By 2009, her relationship with Nicky was over, the kind of life she had hoped for. "I still have some money, I have some houses, but I lost my children. I don't want to live anymore. ”

Incredibly, at this point, she developed a friendship with another lottery winner. "He lives in the South," she said. He won £8 million. He wanted my advice, and probably shouldn't have done that. ”

She went to his place for a week and "brought me to my senses." "He wanted to have a relationship with me." But I'm not interested. I thought he was a cute guy, but he wasn't. ”

Most people will be eager to find a "cute guy" who happens to be a millionaire. "But I don't want his money," she said, and her "fight back" began in 2010 when she met Paul Penney, a firefighter who later became Blake and Georgia's father. "He's different because he doesn't care that I'm a millionaire. ”

By 2011, she was pregnant with twins, but was abandoned by Lawson after the birth of the children.

She has been in many car accidents in her life and seems to be unstable now. She and Paul broke up last year and then met a new boyfriend, Tom, a carpenter, "but we're in no hurry to develop a relationship." He doesn't live here either. ”

She's still naïve about money. Speaking about their breakup, she said that she and Paul owned the house. "I put in a £30,000 deposit. This is my last money, which is now his. I asked, "Isn't it in the names of the two of you?" "No, it's just in his name, because he's making money, so the mortgage will be easier." She said. "But it doesn't matter, because one day the house will be given to the child. ”

I asked, "What about the people who can help but don't help you?" "It's not their fault," she said. "I was only 16 years old at the time, and I thought I knew best!"

She said she was closer to her mother now than ever. And what about her adoptive parents?

"I should go back and see them. But I let them down too much. ”

Now, all she has is about her children. She wanted to teach them the value of money, she said, without a hint of irony.

"I would teach them that you have to work hard to earn money. ”

And use the same effort to save money.