Omaze jackpot still ‘hard to believe’ for grandmother who won with omaze draw

June Smith, 77, says her 2023 win in the omaze Million Pound House Draw — a six-bedroom, three-storey waterfront mansion in Fowey overlooking the Fowey Estuary — remains “mind-boggling” nearly three years on. The widowed grandmother has since sold the house for millions, used some proceeds to buy another home in Fowey, and says the money transformed her family’s financial security.

How the Omaze win arrived on a quiet Friday night in Essex

Smith was settling in for a quiet Friday night in Essex when a knock at the door announced the draw that would change her life. She remembers thinking it was a wind-up: “I honestly thought it was a wind-up… I remember just standing there thinking, this can’t be real. People like me don’t win things like that. ” Her first call was to her children and her second act was to open “a nice bottle of red. ” She says she will “never forget that night. ”

The Fowey mansion: six bedrooms, three storeys and a waterfront view

The prize was a six-bedroom, three-storey home in Fowey overlooking the Fowey Estuary, described as a waterfront mansion worth £4. 5 million as part of the 2023 Omaze Million Pound House Draw. Smith — who has ties to the Colchester area and lived in Essex — says, “I went from living on a single pension to owning a mansion. It still sounds mad when I say those words out loud. ” She is a mother of three and a grandmother of six.

Remembering Ron, her partner of 43 years

Smith lost her husband Ron a year before the win; they had been partners for 43 years. She says Ron worked in architecture all his life and that, standing at the house, she felt he “would have absolutely loved this house. ” She added that she “really do feel like he played a part in the win somehow, ” and that “he always wanted us to be safe and secure. ” She said winning meant that dream came true and that she believes “he’s smiling down on all of us. ”

A Cornish summer with her eldest son and six grandchildren

Before selling, Smith made a point of enjoying the house with family. She flew her eldest son and his family from Australia in business class and gathered her six grandchildren under one roof for “one unforgettable summer. ” She recalled that the last time the family holidayed in Cornwall they had been “all squeezed into a caravan, ” and that this time the grandchildren “ran wild around the place. ” Days were spent strolling along the harbour, eating fish and chips on the quay, popping into local pubs, doing “tea and scones the Cornish way, ” and sampling pasties — “I’ve grown fond of the odd Cornish pasty, though they just call them pasties here of course!”

Selling the property and using the proceeds to secure her family’s future

After the summer, Smith sold the Fowey property for millions. She says the money that came with the house allowed her to help her children onto the property ladder, clear mortgages and start businesses, giving her children and grandchildren what she calls “previously unimaginable financial security. ” She added that seeing the difference it made to them “has been the best part of winning, ” and that she has “still got plenty left for a rainy day. ” Smith also used part of the proceeds to buy another home in Fowey, where she now spends much of her time.