A former teaching assistant won £1million in an Omaze lottery draw and only lent her partner £20 for the pub, saying he won’t join her in retirement just yet.
Louise Bidmead, 65, won the life-changing sum because of her £15 monthly subscription to the Omaze Monthly Millionaire draw, which her partner Matt Power had no idea she had.
The first thing the Luton mother-of-two did was buy a £144 ice cream machine from Costco.
She had been paying into the subscription for the last three years, with Matt, 55, none the wiser.
She spoke about his reaction to the million-pound win. She said:’Matt had no idea I’d been subscribing to Omaze – I’ve been doing it for almost three years and just never mentioned it, so he was even more shocked than I was!
‘Matt isn’t going to retire just yet – all he’s asked for is a £20 sub so far!’
The mother-of-two from Luton said the huge tax-free prize means she can ‘finally whack the heating up without worrying about the bills’.
She added: ‘This money will make such a massive difference to all of us.
Louise Bidmead, 65, won £1million from her Omaze monthly subscription and joked she has only given her partner of 19 years Matt Power, 55, £20 for the pub
The first thing she did was buy this £144 ice cream maker from Costco
‘We’ve been looking ahead to my pension coming through next week, as that was going to help ease the pressure a bit, but this has completely changed everything.
‘It feels like we haven’t got a worry in the world anymore.’
The phone rang while Louise was cooking dinner and just as Matt was leaving for the pub. Louise said she nearly didn’t take the call, not knowing on the other end someone was about to tell her the life-changing news.
She said: ‘I nearly didn’t answer because I thought it was probably just another sales call.
‘But I picked up when they rang again. They said it was Omaze and they’d like to pop over as I’ve won a prize.
‘Then there was a knock at the door and suddenly I was being told I’d won a million pounds.
‘It was crazy, I must have said “wow” about a thousand times, I was totally gobsmacked.
‘One minute I’m flipping burgers, the next I’m a flipping millionaire! Finding out we’d won was just so surreal.’
To celebrate the couple of 19 years cracked open a bottle of whisk, delaying Matt’s pub visit but neither of them were worried for him being late.
Louise said: ‘Matt had a very good reason for being late, but he couldn’t use, “sorry I’m late – Louise has just become a millionaire” as an excuse as no one would’ve believed him in a million years!
‘Matt isn’t going to retire just yet as I think he’d get bored, but he will be able to take more holidays and be more relaxed in general as we won’t be under any financial stress.’
Louise’s children, Elizabeth, 33, and Joe, 29, didn’t believe the news either and could only be convinced when they were shown a video of them winning.
Louise said: ‘My children were so happy for me. They didn’t ask for anything, they just said it’s so lovely that I won’t have any worries now.
‘My daughter had just bought a second-hand car, so I’ve paid that off and a holiday she’d already booked – and I’ll give my son the equivalent in cash of course, but I joked it comes with the condition he’s got to call his mother more often!
‘In all seriousness, it’s wonderful knowing I can help them at such an important stage in their lives.’
Louise, originally from Middlesex, has lived in Luton for 40 years and in her current 3-bedroom home for the past 16 years.
She worked as a teaching assistant for 15 years before retiring, while her partner Matt has spent his entire career working as a carpenter.
The Omaze Monthly Millionaire Draw runs every month, guaranteeing one UK winner £1 million, tax-free, each time.
Omaze also helps raise money for good causes across the UK through its prize draws, with more than £100 million raised to support UK charity partners since launching in 2020.
