The former husband of a £61m EuroMillions winner has issued a funny message to his old flame. The ex-husband of lottery winner Debbir Nuttall, Paul Ridge, quipped: “She can donate some to me, if she likes.”
Paul hadn’t seen his ex-wife Debbie Nuttall for three decades until he spotted someone who “looked familiar” on the telly holding a massive cheque for £61million. They got hitched in 1992 at a registry office but according to Paul, they parted ways just weeks later.
Now, Paul, who works as a delivery driver, and his current wife Paula, aged 57, are sending their best wishes to the lucky winners, saying there’s “no hard feelings”. And with a chuckle, 67 year old Paul said: “She can donate some of her winnings to me, if she likes. I’d be very grateful!”
Debbie and her hubby Richard were marking their 30th year together in the sunny Canary Islands when they found out about their huge win. They jetted back to check if it was real and then treated the whole family to a big fry-up to celebrate.
Paul, from Colne, Lancs, talked about the moment he saw his ex-wife’s lottery luck on the news, saying: “It mentioned Colne. I looked at the photo and said, ‘She looks slightly familiar’. She looked a lot different but she did look slightly familiar.”
Back in the day, Paul was a 35 year old club DJ when he met Debbie, who was 22. They quickly fell for each other and got married, but the union didn’t last long.
Father-of-two Paul commented: “I have no hard feelings. It’s life, we all make mistakes. I wish her all the best. Nobody died, it was no big deal, really. Good luck to them. I’m sure they will enjoy themselves spending it.”
Paula said: “Congratulations. All the best to them.”
Richard, an accountant, and Debbie, who works for a civil engineering firm, are planning to retire early and buy a second home in Portugal. They want to spend more time with their two daughters and three granddaughters. They have already bought a new BMW X5.
Debbie’s dad John, 74, shared how she waited to tell him about the big win in person. He told the Mirror: “She said, ‘You might want to sit down for this’. I was dumbfounded but it couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.”
John also mentioned that it was “more than likely” Debbie would do something charitable in memory of cousin Ben King, who died at 27 from a rare auto-immune disease.
