Britain’s youngest EuroMillions winner says her stupendous lottery windfall has ruined her life.
Jane Park, who was only 17 when she hit a £1million with her first-ever ticket, is considering legal action against lottery bosses for negligence.
Shockingly, she asserts that someone her age should not have been allowed to win.
In a breath-taking rant about her jackpot, Jane, now 21, says the money has made her life ten times worse; she is tired of living the ‘rich’ life, fending off gold digger boyfriends and missing her pre-millionaire vacation days.
Jane, speaking in the same week she pleaded not guilty in her home city of Edinburgh to a charge of drink driving at a McDonald’s, said: “At times it feels like winning the lottery has ruined my life.
“I thought it would make it ten times better but it’s made it ten times worse. I wish I had no money most days. I say to myself, ‘My life would be so much easier if I hadn’t won.’
“People look at me and think, ‘I wish I had her lifestyle, I wish I had her money.’ But they don’t realise the extent of my stress.
“I have material things but apart from that my life is empty. What is my purpose in life?”
Jane added: “I think 18 should be the minimum age for winning the lottery, at the least. The current age of 16 is far too young.”
Back in 2013, Jane was a giddy 17-year-old toasting her win with Scottish fizzy pop Irn Bru because she was too young for champagne.
She was working as an admin temp for £8 an hour and living with her mum Linda in a two-bedroom flat on an Edinburgh council estate.
Four years on she feels she never really understood what difference the money would make to her life.
Jane said: “My nana Anne told me, ‘You might as well have given me a gun.’ I was like, ‘Nana, what are you talking about? This is the best thing ever?’ But now I totally agree.
“She was saying you can’t give a 17-year-old that amount of money.”
Camelot, who run EuroMillions in the UK, appointed an adviser to help Jane manage her new wealth. But Jane, who now owns two properties and calls herself a developer, insists it was only family advice that stopped her blowing all the money.
She said: “I’ve read about other lottery winners who’ve just blown it all and I can totally see how it can be done. “I was stuck in front of a financial adviser who was using words like investment bonds. I had no clue what they meant.”
Jane splashed out on treats such as the Louis Vuitton handbag she still carries. She also bought a chihuahua, Princess, who didn’t last quite so long. She also drives an £18,000 purple Range Rover that she referred to as ‘flashy’ and ‘far too big’.
And while Jane travelled to the US and the Maldives, she prefers Benidorm and Magaluf.
Jane parties about three times a week in Edinburgh and Glasgow with the same loyal pals she had before her life changed.
She loves posting glamorous snaps on Instagram and Twitter as well as chatting about her beloved football team Hibernian.
But Jane can still rely on support from her brothers and sisters – Roxanne, 27, Billy, 19, Gavin, ten and Bradley, one.
She said: “They think my win’s amazing. They’re very supportive of me. But they are very protective too.”
Jane has moved back into a small flat with her mum who does everything for her, including her laundry.
But she said: “It’s scary how different my life is from my friends’. When they say they’re stressed about money they mean their wages are s**t.
“There’s no one in the same boat as me, no-one who really understands. I feel like I’m a 40-year-old.”
But has she ever thought of just getting rid of her winnings to relieve herself of the burden?
“What?” Jane laughs incredulously. “Nah.”
A Camelot spokesman said: “An independent financial and legal panel was set up shortly after Jane’s win and we put her in touch with another winner, who won at the same age, to share their experience.
“We have been in touch with Jane from time to time since her win to offer ongoing support. It is always up to the winners as to whether they want to take up that support.
“We will continue to support Jane in any way we can if that is what decides she wants.”
Camelot said the minimum age limit to play the lottery is a matter for Parliament to rule on.
