A married couple from Coventry who won the lottery seven years ago revealed there is one thing they miss about their old life.
Rather than an extension on their holiday, Bill, 64, and Cath Mullarkey, 63, returned from St Lucia to a very special message, telling them they had won £1 million in the National Lottery in 2017.
“I thought it must be something like, ‘this could be you if you play tonight’, but no, the lady said, ‘congratulations, you’re the proud winner of the EuroMillions, £1 million’ and that was it,” Bill told the PA news agency.
Bill, 64, and Cath Mullarkey, 63, won £1 million in the National Lottery in 2017 (PA)
“It was life-changing, but it took time to sink in. Even for a day or two, it was surreal. I’m thinking maybe we’ll get a call back saying it’s a mistake, but no.
“When you see it’s all signed, sealed, delivered and then that’s reality when you see your bank account with zeros, wow.”
With all that money at their disposal, the duo decided to live out their dream by moving to St Lucia.
After already owning a plot of land on the Caribbean island, they have now built a home and their very own restaurant.
“We always thought of having our own place and ideally open our own little restaurant,” Bill added.
The couple have opened their very own restaurant in St Lucia (PA)
“We never thought it would happen but we dreamed and then that was the priority, that and help family members.
“We had got to that age in life where we thought it’d never be possible or we would be fortunate enough to think, ‘where do we really want to settle down’, and for me, it was a no brainer.”
Their restaurant, which opened in November 2023, is surrounded by mountain views and serves St Lucian food.
Although they do miss, what they call the ‘beautiful’ Coventry, the couple’s lives have now changed for the better.
“We were happy before, but we are even happier now, knowing that we have this,” Bill said.
The pair are living their dream (PA)
“I’m grateful every day of my life and so is Cath, for the change that it’s managed to bring us
“What we’re doing now is for ourselves and living our dream, doing our thing, which we dreamt of, but never thought would be possible, so it has changed our life for the better.”
Located in the eastern Caribbean Sea, St Lucia covers about 617 square kilometres.
The island has a population of roughly 180,000 and is home to its famous twin volcanic peaks, the Pitons.