We were happier when we were broke

Saturday, May 31, 2008 posted 02:55 PM EDT

A LOTTERY-WINNING couple have split up three years after scooping their £5m prize, saying “We were happier when we were poor”.

Claire Owen, 24, and Craig Pope, 23, had been struggling to pay off £10,000 of loan and credit card debts before their lucky numbers came up on Christmas Eve in 2004.

The couple, who lived in Porth, Rhondda, at the time, also had a mortgage and five-month-old daughter Seren to look after.

But now the lucky couple have split up and share custody of Seren, now aged three. They have split their lottery fortune between them.

Claire, who used to be an administrative assistant at Leeke’s in Pontyclun, said it showed “money can’t buy you happiness”.

She said: “We were happy when we were broke because we had each other and the baby. But everything changed after that.

“I can’t blame the lottery money for splitting us up – but people think that if you are rich then every day will be sunny. It’s just not like that.

“There was no one reason for me and Craig splitting up – we just drifted apart. We still see each other for Seren’s sake.

“Although it was Craig’s name on the lottery ticket we agreed to share the winnings and that is still the case.

“I wish him all the best and he has a new girlfriend. But there is no man in my life at the moment.”

Craig and Claire lived in a £55,000 terrace house in Porth, Rhondda before their win.

They bought a £400,000 five-bedroom home with a swimming pool in Tonyrefail, where Claire still lives with her brother Jamie, 26, and Seren.

Craig, a former software tester for Astra Games in Bridgend, now lives in a £500,000 home near Cardigan, West Wales, with his new girlfriend Alice.

He had bought his life-changing Lucky Dip from the Spar shop on High Street in Tonyrefail. It won a third of the £15m jackpot.

After the lottery windfall, he and Claire indulged in a £1m spending spree, which included buying a £40,000 Toyota Land Cruiser, an £18,000 Honda Civic, a Vauxhall Corsa, houses for Craig’s mum and brother and holidays to Gran Canaria and Benidorm.

Craig’s dad Nigel confirmed the split.

“It was amicable and they share Seren,” he said. “It’s sad but that’s life these days.”

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