A MAN who led a non-stop lifestyle after winning £7.5million on the lottery says his ex-wife took thousands and the house after they split – but he’s happier than ever.
Roy Gibney, now 69, struck it rich in July 1998 and it changed his life, allowing him to indulge in some flashy living.
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Nowadays though, he’s sold his sprawling mansion and moved into a five-bed semi in Grimsby, Lincolnshire with his third wife Tracy Baker, 63.
Roy said: “Being married is better than winning the lottery”.
The former sheet metal worker revealed that despite winning a fortune, the couple had a low-key wedding and celebrated in a local pub.
Despite the couple having a sizeable bank account, Tracy still works five days a week as a teaching assistant.
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Roy, who once splurged out a six-bed mansion with a swimming pool tiled with his winning numbers, said: “I live a modest lifestyle now.
“It’s not the life I had when I won but I much prefer it this way.
“As soon as I won I bought a huge house with acres of land.
“But I didn’t really like it because I never saw anybody.
“Now I’m in a smaller house in the middle of Grimsby and it’s perfect.
“I wanted to be near people and now I am.”
Roy’s 25-acre property in Barnoldby-le-Beck, Lincs, came with its own fishing lake, a fully-equipped gym, steam room, hot tub and all-weather tennis court.
He sold it for more than £1.1m and now lives with sweetheart Tracy in a more modest home near to his favourite boozer.
Despite downsizing, the snooker fanatic told how he is “the happiest I’ve ever been” after reconnecting with Tracy.
The couple, who had briefly dated in 2004, wed in front of just eight guests in 2019.
Roy’s previous married second wife Darlene Shand, 49, at a castle in the Scottish Highlands.
The couple split acrimoniously in 2015 – with Darlene keeping a £350,000 home in Scotland, a car, caravan and £50,000.
He said: “Tracy changed my life far more than a lottery win did.
“I’d sooner have my wife than winning the lottery.
“She’s so fantastic and we’re so happy.
“We are so close to each other and we don’t go barmy – we’ve stayed sensible.
“We’ve got a nice house – it’s big enough, nice and long and we both love it.
“It’s not the life I had. But I much prefer it.
“There are some things money just can’t buy, aren’t there?”
Roy, the first of three jackpot winners from Grimsby, admitted going “barmy” after landing the fortune.
The first thing he did was sell his car to a pal — for a quid.
He then bought a red Lexus LS300, which he still owns, and his six-bed mansion.
He spent £500,000 doing it up, adding the swimming pool, a bar, a snooker table, a poker table and roulette table.
Roy added: “When the pool was put in, they asked what I wanted on the bottom. I said, ‘I don’t bloody know’. They suggested Roy Gibney, the date and my numbers. I said, ‘slap it in’.
“I was loving it, but I was also targeted by crooks.”
Speaking in 2019, he added: “It was a hell of a lot of money to win 21 years ago.
“At the start I went at it at a million miles an hour, like you would. I lived the high life and partied.”
Roy and Tracy, who still own a holiday villa in Cyprus, married in a registry office on her 59th birthday before celebrating at their local, the Livesey Arms.
Roy said: “I got married in a castle last time, this time it was in a pub.
“Tracy said she didn’t want to treat it like a wedding – we just wanted to go and have fun with our friends.
“Not only is she absolutely beautiful but she is so down to earth.
“She doesn’t have to go to school to work at all – but she wants to. She loves all the kids and the kids love her.
“We have a wonderful relationship and that’s something a lottery win can never guarantee.”
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