Posted on: November 25, 2022, 07:17h.
Last updated on: November 25, 2022, 01:07h.
Some people have strange reactions when it comes to winning the lottery. A perfect example comes from Reddit, where a recent lottery winner asked for advice about her tantrum-throwing boyfriend’s reaction to her payday.
“AirAway2713” didn’t provide a lot of background to the win, only explaining that she scored a “life-changing” amount of money. Having grown up poor, she wanted to do the smart thing and talk to a financial advisor before making any moves.
Her boyfriend, however, had different plans. He believes she should lavish him with gifts, including a new Tesla. They haven’t even been together for a year, but she still wants to know what others think.
To Share Or Not To Share
AirAway2713 posted her dilemma in the AITA group, which has users posting the question, “Am I The A**hole?” It’s a way to get opinions on different topics from everyday people, and there are more than a few posts that leave readers scratching their heads in disbelief.
The 26-year-old lottery winner has been dating 30-year-old “Andy” for seven months and they don’t even live together. She shared the knowledge of the lottery win with him, which apparently converted his image of her into dollar signs.
Now, all Andy wants is for AirAway to spend her money on him. He gave her a “list of items” he wants, including a Tesla, which “he absolutely doesn’t need,” a new house with a swimming pool, and more.
Because AirAway refuses, she’s a “Scrooge” and a “cheapskate.” His tantrum apparently continues, as he has also told all of their friends about the lottery score, which has led to an endless line of requests for handouts and parties.
At the end of the post, the op asks AITA, and the responses are exactly what anyone would expect. Some suggested she dump the “leech” and others urged her to take measures so she can’t get pregnant.
746 replies to the IATA thread later, and everyone agrees. AirAway is definitely NTA (Not The A**hole) and it’s time to find someone more stable.
Be Careful What You Wish For
A lot of people dream of winning the lottery, fantasizing about how they would live following a sudden windfall of cash. However, in too many instances, lottery winners seem to drop the concept of common sense and ultimately lose everything they had.
One of the most notorious examples is Jack Whittaker, who won $315 million in a Powerball draw in 2002. He took the lump sum, but said it wouldn’t change his life.
Things didn’t work according to plan. Apart from a barrage of requests for handouts and “loans,” even those within his closest circle tried to take advantage of him. More than once, they spiked his drinks in order to sedate him so they could ransack his house and cars.
Five years later, according to media reports, Whittaker no longer had anything and had to file for bankruptcy. He died in 2020 due to illness.
There’s also Victoria Zell, who won $11 million in 2001. Within five years, it was all gone, and she was in jail for vehicular manslaughter.
It’s not always bad news, though. A number of lottery winners have been able to use their money smartly to avoid the pitfalls. Some have found renewed happiness by donating it to charitable organizations.
A study in 2018 led by the Stockholm School of Economics in collaboration with Stockholm University and New York University found positive results from lottery winners. Researchers asked 3,000 winners in Sweden about their quality of life after the big payday, and the vast majority said they were much happier.
The research also debunked the common myth that all lottery winners go broke. Some 70% of the respondents were still living much better than they were prior to receiving their good fortune.