£148m EuroMillions winner Gillian Bayford divorces second husband after seven years of marriage
Gillian Bayford’s life changed forever when she won big on the EuroMillions in 2012, but Gillian is starting all over again after reportedly divorcing her second husband
Lotto winner Gillian Bayford, who landed a £148million EuroMillions jackpot, has reportedly divorced her second husband after a seven year marriage. But this isn’t the first relationship break down Gillian, now 52, has sufferred since her big win back in August 2012.
Gillian’s life changed forever when she won the multi-million pound prize with her then husband Adrian Bayford. And while a handful of fortunate individuals relish their newfound millionaire status, history has repeatedly shown that wealth doesn’t always bring happiness.
While Gillian splashed out on a Mini, Mercedes, and Audi, Adrian snapped up their Grade II listed Georgian manor house in Cambridgeshire, where they lived with their two children. By November 2013, however, things had soured.
Just 15 months after their big win they divorced, with stress from their enormous win partly to blame for their downfall. After their split Gillian moved from Suffolk to Scotland, where she grew up, and reportedly walked away from the marriage with half the winnings – £74million.
But Gillian soon fell in love again after meeting Brian Deans, and the pair tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews in 2018. They had a daughter together two years later but insiders claim the marriage began to fall apart soon after.
Dean moved out of the pair’s home in March last year and newly-lodged paperwork reveals the couple’s marriage ended last month, with friends of Brian’s claiming he walked away with nothing. One souce old The Sun: “She reckons she’s so much better off than she was when she was with him. Now the divorce is final she’s starting all over again and is delighted with how everything has worked out.”
A friend of Brian’s said: “I’m not sure how happy Brian is with how it’s all turned out. He’s signed everything away and more or less walked away with nothing.”
Gillian is not the first lottery winner to suffer following her big win. Over the years, there have been numerous tales of lottery winners plunging into despair after their jackpot wins, leading to ruined marriages, fractured families, and destroyed homes. Striking it rich with a lottery win is often seen as the ultimate fantasy, but for some, it turns into an absolute horror story.
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