Not a lotto love: Britain’s biggest Euromillions winners Colin and Christine Weir divorce eight years after scooping £161m jackpot

• Colin and Chris Weir have announced their divorce, eight years after lotto win
• The couple made the Sunday Times Rich List after scooping the £161m jackpot 
• They said they have been living apart for ‘some time’ and will divorce amicably 

Britain’s biggest Euromillions winners have announced that they are going to divorce, eight years after winning the £161 million prize.    

Colin, 71, and Chris Weir, 62, who won the lottery in 2011, also confirmed in a statement they had been living apart ‘for some time’.

The couple from Largs, Ayrshire, had been married for more than 30 years and have two grown-up children.

Colin, a former TV cameraman, and Chris, a former psychiatric nurse, made the Sunday Times Rich List with their win eight years ago. 

Britain’s biggest Euromillions winners Colin, 71, and Chris Weir, 62, have announced their divorce

A statement issued to The Scottish Sun said: ‘It is with deep regret that Chris and Colin confirm they have been living apart for some time and intend to divorce amicably.

‘There will be no further comment.’

The couple, who had been married for more than 30 years, said they were ‘not scared’ of the wealth because they were going to have ‘so much fun’ with the money after the win.

They set up The Weir Charitable Trust in 2013 and made a donation to a community football club in their local Largs.

Partick Thistle Football Club also received investment from the couple which led to the youth set-up being rebranded the Thistle Weir Youth Academy and a section of their Firhill Stadium being named the Colin Weir Stand.

The couple from Largs, Ayrshire have announced their split eight years after winning the huge £161 million prize

After their big win, they bought £850,000 Knock House, a four-bedroom detached home in 23 acres of gardens and woodland on the outskirts of Largs

They also defended making a donation of £1 million to the independence campaign ahead of the 2014 referendum, and continued donating to the SNP afterwards.

Friends of the couple said that their divorce was an ‘open secret’ and that they had become estranged for months. 

The couple were in the news last August after it emerged that they owned separate mansions.  

Colin gave a property that they had bought together in Troon, Scotland over to his wife.

He then bought a £1.5m waterfront home a few miles away, giving Chris sole ownership of the £3m Frognal House. 

After their big win, they bought £850,000 Knock House, a four-bedroom detached home in 23 acres of gardens and woodland on the outskirts of Largs. 

Adrian and Gillian Bayford (pictured), who won £148million in 2012, split just a year later

The couple aren’t the only Lotto winners to eventually divorce. 

Les and Samantha Scadding, who scooped £45.5million in 2009, divorced in 2013 and Adrian and Gillian Bayford, who won £148million in 2012, split just a year later.

Gillian Bayford also admitted that last year that she has not spoken to her ‘greedy’ family for nearly one year, despite giving them £20m after the windfall.

She claims her mother, father and brother – who all live in plush houses and drive flash cars thanks to her fortune – ‘disowned’ her last May, but still expect her to bail them out when they need money.

Elsewhere, Jason and Victoria Jones had been married for only a month when they scooped £2.3million on the lottery in 2004.

However, the pair announced they were to divorce after Mrs Jones met a businessman one hundred times richer than her husband. 

Gareth and Catherine Bull, who pocketed a cool £40.6million EuroMillions jackpot in 2012 are also leading separate lives.

Source: Read Full Article