Widow's Cornish jackpot still 'hard to believe' after Omaze £4.5m win
June Smith, 77, says her 2023 omaze Million Pound House Draw win — a £4. 5 million, six-bedroom, three-storey waterfront home in Fowey overlooking the Fowey Estuary — remains "mind-boggling" nearly three years on. The prize let her sell the property for millions and use the proceeds to change the financial outlook for her children and six grandchildren.
Omaze knock on a quiet Friday in Essex
Smith was at home in Essex, settling in for a quiet Friday night, when there was a knock at the door and she was told she had won the 2023 house draw. She said she honestly thought it was a wind-up, remembering she stood there thinking it could not be real. The first thing she did was call her children; the second was open a nice bottle of red.
From a pension to a six-bedroom, three-storey mansion in Fowey
The prize was a spectacular six-bedroom, three-storey waterfront house above the Fowey Estuary. Smith has described going from living on a single pension to owning a mansion and called the moment of arrival at the elegant waterfront home emotional. She said her late husband Ron, who had worked in architecture all his life and had been her partner for 43 years, would have loved the house and that she felt he had somehow played a part in the win.
One unforgettable Cornish summer with family
Before selling, Smith gathered family for an extended summer in Cornwall. She flew her eldest son and his family over from Australia in business class and brought six grandchildren together under one roof — a contrast to their last holiday when they were squeezed into a caravan. The grandchildren ran wild around the property as the family spent days strolling along the harbour, tucking into fish and chips on the quay, popping into local pubs, enjoying tea and scones the Cornish way and sampling pasties.
Sale, proceeds and life-changing financial security
After that treasured summer, Smith later sold the Fowey home for millions. The money she gained along with the house allowed her to help all her children with the next chapter of their lives: getting them onto the property ladder, clearing mortgages and helping to start businesses. She says those moves have given her children and grandchildren previously unimaginable financial security, and that she still has plenty left for a rainy day.
Why Ron still features in the story and where she lives now
Smith lost her husband Ron the year before her win, and she has repeatedly said she feels he is smiling down on the family. Ron's lifelong work in architecture is one reason she felt the house suited him and the family. Having loved Cornwall, Smith used part of the proceeds from the sale to buy another home in Fowey, where she now spends much of her time.
