A young Australian has revealed how his life changed dramatically after his low-income father won the lottery, making his family instantly rich.
Jayden Clark, 22, told how his mother picked him and his sister up from school about a decade ago with a “big surprise” waiting for them at their Adelaide home.
Inside, Mr Clark found his parents with a ‘gigantic’ oversized cheque. They had won the jackpot.
“We went from being fairly poor to multi-millionaires overnight,” he said. ‘It was the most interesting thing that ever happened to us.
“We had a house that I remember, at this stage my parents were fighting to keep it, and it was a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle.
“My father, who was a bit of a gambler, used the same repeat numbers he had been using for five years and he won the lottery.”
Mr Clark said he felt he did not deserve the money and that his sudden wealth was an embarrassment to him.
“For a long time, I went back and forth between wanting to share my story and then feeling so ashamed about it,” he said.
Influencer Jayden Clark, 22, revealed his family won the lottery in Adelaide ten years ago
He said he was often ashamed of his modest family’s meteoric rise to multi-millionaire status
‘When I was growing up, at least in Australia, when I became aware, [people] would always make it very clear that we didn’t deserve it – because we didn’t work hard.
“Even growing up we had a beautiful house, like it was a blueprint for a reality show.
‘It was on a street with doctors and priests who owned churches – and there we were. We were like a bogan lottery family.”
He said that once he moved to the United States, he started to feel better about his situation.
‘It wasn’t until I came to LA that I felt like I belonged and was normal, because there are so many crazy people here with crazy lives. I even felt like a pariah at home,” Mr. Clark said.
“But I certainly got the feeling that this wasn’t something to be proud of.”
The 22-year-old said his family didn’t know how to manage the millions at first, but now they live comfortably
The Australian influencer is known for his TikTok videos about his lifestyle and living in LA, he is currently in a relationship with American radio host Zach Sang
Mr Clark said the money allowed the family to do many things they had always wanted to do, including a trip to the airport in a limousine.
“My mother was very generous and helped family,” he said.
“When I was growing up, my best friends would spend Christmas Eve and stay with us and have Santa bring presents.”
Mr Clark said his family tried to be inclusive to as many people as possible.
“We would almost feel bad, not directly for them, but mainly because we were so lucky,” he said.
At first, Mr. Clark said the family had no idea how to handle the money.
His family initially took two weeks off from school and work to plan what to do with their fortune.
“They didn’t have anyone who came from money. They really had to figure it all out on their own,” Clark said.
His mother has managed to keep the family afloat with the win in the ten years since the victory.
Mr Clark revealed that his parents are no longer multi-millionaires but have ‘made themselves comfortable’.