I won the lottery in Australia. This is what happened in the months that followed… and how I spent the money: ‘Good to have, not easy to keep’

For most Australians, buying a lottery ticket is little more than a passing fantasy – a fleeting ‘what if?’.

And now those lucky enough to win big have shared what it is really like – and how their lives changed in the months and years that followed.

A wave of viral TikTok confessions have circulated this week, with Aussies and New Zealanders sharing the details everybody wants to know about how enormous wins were handled – and why they’re not always so ‘lucky’.

‘My sister-in-law won $8 million and bought a house in Sydney near the harbour. She gave my husband a car,’ one woman wrote.

‘I know someone who won $20 million. It happened right in front of me – we bought $14 tickets as a joke,’ another recalled, hinting that they didn’t score a single slice of the winnings. 

Meanwhile, a lucky couple who won the lotto three separate times had enough money to retire in their 40s, buy multiple properties and enjoy luxury cars and holidays.

Even smaller prizes left lasting impressions.

‘I won a European river cruise for two valued at $25,000. I still enter everything I see,’ a man shared, urging others to do the same.

Many also shared ‘tactics’ for how they managed to nab a win.

One woman revealed she won a car through a radio competition after months of what she describes as manifestation.

‘I drove past the radio station every day for work and the car was parked out the front,’ she said.

‘I would say to myself, “I’m going to win that car, I already own it”. And then I won it.’

Her advice? Enter everything.

‘It can happen to anyone,’ she said. ‘Yes it’s rare, but it happens. Just keep believing and sign up for everything. Especially if it’s free.’

When the dream becomes complicated

Not every lottery story has a fairy-tale ending. In fact, many don’t.

Several admitted that sudden wealth didn’t always translate into long-term security.

‘My brother won $93,000 and a guy I used to know won $675,000. Both broke in 18 months,’ one revealed.

Another shared that their grandmother won £10,000 in the 1950s – worth roughly £250,000 today – but spent it all without buying property.

‘She was so young so she just blew it,’ they said.

And she’s not alone. 

Hundreds detailed how they, their friends or their family members were left worse-off or isolated following a big win.

One person said their former neighbours won $660,000 but were broke within five years after splurging on ‘a hell of a lot of cr*p’.

Another said her friend won $1 million in 2001.

‘All gone by 2003 and he was back working, with no assets to speak of. At least he had a really fun two years,’ she said.

Another blew through $2 million, only to later sell the house, boat and car they had purchased because they could not afford the upkeep.

Elsewhere a man described how his friend’s parents won $1 million, quit their jobs and invested in a franchise – only for the business to fail and leave them worse off.

Others said the psychological toll of sudden wealth was just as significant.

A man who won a large jackpot years ago described it as a ‘double-edged sword’.

‘Money brings out the best and worst in people. It’s good to have, not easy to keep and people come out of the woodwork for a piece of it,’ he said.

He admitted that if he ever won big again, he would keep it secret – even from family.

The fantasy vs reality

In Australia, lottery jackpots regularly climb into the tens of millions, fuelling office sweeps and weekend ticket splurges. 

The dream of instant financial freedom remains powerful, especially amid rising living costs and housing pressures.

But as these stories show, the reality of sudden wealth can be far more complex.

For some, it means harbourfront homes and early retirement. For others, it means expensive lessons about money management or a divided family and lost friendships.

And for a lucky few, it might just mean a free car parked outside a radio station – waiting for someone bold enough to believe it already belongs to them.