Bus driver wins £2m lottery jackpot three months after divorce

Mar 18, 2010, 8:24 am (15 comments)

UK National Lottery

It was an amicable divorce and Helen Halstead was happy to wish her former husband the very best of luck for the future.

She couldn't have imagined how quickly that wish would be fulfilled.

Just weeks after their split, bus driver Kevin Halstead won £2.3 million (US$3.5 million) playing the Lottery.

His ex-wife is now coming to terms with the fact that, but for the divorce, Mr. Halstead might have been legally obliged to share his windfall with her.

Instead, she is making do with her own bit of luck. As her ex was checking off his winning numbers, she won £5 on a scratchcard. Mr. Halstead, 46, who shared last Saturday's £4.6 million jackpot with one other ticket-holder, revealed how the couple married in 1994, only to split three years later.

Despite moving in with new partners, they remained husband and wife in name only for the sake of their daughter Jessica, 14.

They finally decided to complete the paperwork to make their break-up official three months ago. Yesterday, Mr. Halstead, from Preston, opened a bottle of champagne with partner Josie Jones, 43, a care worker, in front of a Stagecoach bus with ' Congratulations Kevin!' displayed instead of the destination.

He said he planned to continue driving the Preston-Bolton bus, which he has done for the past 17 years — after a few weeks off.

"I don't want to cut myself off from my friends and I really enjoy my job," Halstead said. "Maybe I will go part-time."

He revealed that he and Miss Jones — herself a divorced mother of four — plan to swap their rented terrace home for a mansion nearer his mother Joyce.

An avid Liverpool FC fan, he also hopes to splash out on a season ticket at Anfield and take Miss Jones — who has never been abroad — on a foreign holiday.

He insisted he and his ex-wife remain on good terms and hinted he might give her some of his £2,302,668 win.

"This win will help my friends out and she is still my friend," he said. "We divorced three months ago and split up about 13 years ago but we stayed friends — we did not get a divorce back then for the sake of our Jessica.

"We maintained being friends and stayed in contact every week. There is no bitterness. I know lots of marriages go through very bitter break-ups but ours didn't."

He also revealed that a Mrs. Halstead could soon be sharing his winnings after all. "Josie and I have both been married before and we are quite happy as it is — but who knows?" he said.

Last night, his former wife, 43, was putting on a brave face. She has already invited Mr. Halstead and Miss Jones for a celebratory cup of tea at her modest detached, three-bedroomed house in Coppull, Lancashire.

"It's fantastic and I'm made up for them," she said. "It really couldn't have happened to a nicer couple.

"I've not heard anything about whether he'll give me any money. That's up to him I suppose. I'm just over the moon for him. It's great news and he deserves every penny."

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Daily Mail

Comments

PERDUE

Very happy to see that the ex's are still friends. I hope the money or the media doesn't mess up their friendship. I hope Mr. Halstead uses his money wisely.

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

I Agree!

The article read:  "Despite moving in with new partners, they remained husband and wife in name only for the sake of their daughter Jessica, 14."  Odd notion/mindsets ... how does the notion of adultery being practiced by BOTH parents "help" a child? The only outcome is that the child is exposed to two ADDITIONAL adults who have no qualms regarding daily displaying that they mock the union-of-marriage.  Additionally, in the U.S.A., "married-yet-filing-seperately" income tax filers pay more than any other income group.

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Congrats to the winner ... let's hope the ex keeps her hands off of the money ! Evil Looking

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Quote: Originally posted by PERDUE on Mar 18, 2010

Very happy to see that the ex's are still friends. I hope the money or the media doesn't mess up their friendship. I hope Mr. Halstead uses his money wisely.

I Agree! They seem to be good terms with each other and I hope things work out for them.

ca-dreamin*'s avatarca-dreamin*

All I can say is WOW!

Congrats to the winner! Good thing his divorce was final.  This could have turned into a real mess!

konane's avatarkonane

Congratulations to Kevin Halstead!  Hope his win brings him much happiness.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

I wish Kevin all the best but I think he's mistaken if he thinks he'll be able to continue driving the bus.

LckyLary

You mean he ACTUALLY WON a Lottery where the prize has "£" in it? Every time I "win" one of those it's a scam.

ca-dreamin*'s avatarca-dreamin*

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Mar 18, 2010

I wish Kevin all the best but I think he's mistaken if he thinks he'll be able to continue driving the bus.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. LOL he'll learn real quick I'm sure.

myturn's avatarmyturn

Why did he go public? The UK lottery allows winners to remain anonymous, he should have taken that option. What is to be gained by going public?

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

Quote: Originally posted by HaveABall on Mar 18, 2010

I Agree!

The article read:  "Despite moving in with new partners, they remained husband and wife in name only for the sake of their daughter Jessica, 14."  Odd notion/mindsets ... how does the notion of adultery being practiced by BOTH parents "help" a child? The only outcome is that the child is exposed to two ADDITIONAL adults who have no qualms regarding daily displaying that they mock the union-of-marriage.  Additionally, in the U.S.A., "married-yet-filing-seperately" income tax filers pay more than any other income group.

When you're not mired in dogma it's easy to see that real relationships aren't based on a piece of paper. Anyone who thinks they were committing adultery doesn't have a clue what a marriage really is.

And where does the article say they're filing separate tax returns? I've known a couple of people who never divorced because they didn't want to  divide or sell real property. In some instances a paper marriage is much more convenient than other business structures.

rowlettewheel

Quote: Originally posted by LckyLary on Mar 18, 2010

You mean he ACTUALLY WON a Lottery where the prize has "£" in it? Every time I "win" one of those it's a scam.

what a scam.... funny the letter i got said  i was a winner also Cheers...lol

GYM RICE

Quote: Originally posted by myturn on Mar 19, 2010

Why did he go public? The UK lottery allows winners to remain anonymous, he should have taken that option. What is to be gained by going public?

I'll take a stab at this...He is a passive aggressive who really wanted to rub it into his ex-wifes nose...Didn't he say something about getting a mansion?

bothwings

Kevin Halstead should reconsider any relationship with his ex, except to communicate with her in the interest of his daughter.

It is most unwise to remain in any other relationship whatsoever with his ex. This is what homicides are made of.

I just don't feel good about it at all. Being naive can get you killed. Nevermind good intentions.

He divorced his ex for a reason. He needs to move on with his life. Shocked

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