'Punching Above Your Weight' competition champion has won AGAIN after he and his wife scooped a £1million Lottery scratchcard jackpot. Darren Donaghey, 33, hit the headlines four years ago after winning an award for being in a relationship with his stunning 28-year-old partner, Kate.
At the time, he said he'd "had a stick" for years about how he managed to bag Kate. And now, he has become a millionaire after it emerged today that he and his partner with whom he has two autistic children have won the scratchcard jackpot. The happy couple, from Newcastle upon Tyne, scooped the incredible National Lottery prize after popping to the shop to buy an emergency pint of milk. Still, in disbelief at their win, they are planning on giving their three-year-old daughter and six-year-old son the life they have always dreamed of.
This could include a sensory room for them both. The pair has also been "desperate" to give the youngsters more room to live in, so are planning to move from their two-bedroom home to a bigger one. Darren famously won Metro Radio's controversial competition in 2014 when listeners voted him and Kate the most mismatched couple in the looks department. The loved-up bloke was crowned one of the region’s luckiest men. At the time, he said: "It's not unusual to be out together and other guys to innocently start chatting Kate up, thinking that I couldn’t possibly be with her.“Even when we are out shopping at Asda I get these funny looks from blokes and I know what they are thinking. Having put up with this for years I knew we had a decent chance of winning."And now, Darren has become a winner again.
The dad, who had only popped to the shop to buy milk, bought the Monopoly Classic scratchcard after it “caught his eye” in the queue. He said: “Winning the lottery is something which only happens to other people. We still cannot believe this has happened to ordinary people like Kate and myself.“This money will just totally change our lives and the lives of our children too.“We are currently in a two-bedroom house and desperately need more room for the children now all of our dreams have come true with this win."We can move to a new home, which is bigger and with more bedrooms and even creates a sensory room for our daughter and son.”Darren, who bought scratchcard at the Walker Superstore, added that supporting the autism charities which have offered so much help to his family will also be close to his and Kate’s heart when they look at how to spend their prize. He continued: “We want to raise more awareness of autism and this win will help us to do this.
“We will also help our family as much as we possibly can too.“Initially, I think time away will be really important, so we are planning to go on a family holiday and think carefully about what our priorities will be.”Darren, a customer service advisor at a call centre, had re-scheduled his shifts at work to enable him to spend more time with his children before the scratchcard win. As he adjusted to his new work pattern, he had found himself up earlier than usual. He recalled: “I had left for work and then decided I was far too early so thought I would pop back home to spend more time with Kate and the children.“When I got home Kate asked if I would mind popping out to buy a pint of milk as we had run out.“When I was in the shop I had some spare change in my pocket and for some reason, the Monopoly Classic scratchcard just caught my eye. I thought I have got change, I will buy one.“I went out to my car and decided to scratch it straight away.“I couldn’t actually believe it when I was looking at a scratchcard which was worth £1million and I literally had £1million in my hand! I just screamed but I also felt numb. I just couldn’t comprehend what was happening.“I rushed home and Kate just thought I was joking. I don’t think either of us actually believed what was happening to us until we called Camelot and they confirmed that we really were now millionaires.”The couple met when Kate moved into the same street as Darren. They tied the knot at Northumberland's Matfen Hall in August 2014, just months after their 'Punching Above Your Weight' competition win.