Includes video report
When lottery winner Gillian Bayford decided to spend some of her £148 million (US$204.3 million) windfall on a fleet of luxury Audis, she wound up taking more than the high-end cars away from the dealership.
For the mother of two has split from her husband and started a new relationship with the man who sold her the vehicles.
Alan Warnock has quit his job with the dealership and set up home with the multi-millionairess, telling friends he is 'very happy' with his new circumstances.
Last month, Mrs Bayford, 41, announced her separation from husband Adrian — who actually bought the winning EuroMillions ticket last summer — with the couple blaming the stresses that their massive jackpot brought for the collapse of their nine-year marriage.
(See UK couple wins massive EuroMillions lottery jackpot, Lottery Post, Aug. 20, 2012.)
At the time, there was speculation about a relationship between Mrs Bayford and married gardener Chris Tovey, 40, who worked on the 200-acre East Anglia estate the couple bought with their winnings — although she strenuously denied rumors of an affair.
In a further twist, Mr Tovey claims that Mr Bayford injured him in a golf buggy collision, and is suing the couple.
After announcing their split, Mrs Bayford, who was a healthcare worker at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, left their £6 million Georgian mansion and has now bought a new house in an exclusive estate on the outskirts of her original home town of Dundee.
Mr Warnock is helping Mrs Bayford settle in. The pair were spotted Christmas shopping together and he has been seen helping with her eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son.
Mr Bayford is aware of his estranged wife's new relationship and it is understood they have reached an agreement to split the lottery fortune, one of the biggest ever won in Britain.
When they went public with their win, they insisted they would not let their fortune change them. But last month Mr Bayford, 43, confirmed: 'Gillian and I have split. When you win the lottery it's so stressful.'
At the time he insisted there was no one else involved, saying: 'There's never been anything like that at all.'
Last night a friend of Mr Warnock said: 'Alan and Gillian are an item and are serious about each other. He sold her the cars she wanted after the big win and romance has blossomed since then.'
The couple met in October last year, soon after the £148 million win, when the Bayfords visited Gillian's parents in Scotland.
They went to the John Clark Audi dealership in Dundee, where Mr Warnock was sales manager, and ordered five luxury cars.
Mr Bayford does not drive and the vehicles — three Q7 SUVs worth about £60,000 each and two Q5s worth around £40,000 each — were bought for Gillian, her parents, her brother and his girlfriend.
At the time Mr Warnock was quoted as saying: 'They're a very down-to-earth couple – they're very grounded and easy to deal with.
'It was good fun to do business with them and the buzz around the place was fantastic.'
Speaking outside her new house with Mr Warnock by her side, Mrs Bayford told The Mail on Sunday she had 'moved home'.
She did not deny she was in a relationship with Mr Warnock but declined to comment on the matter. Her spokesman Simon Garrett said: 'She will not be discussing her private life now or in the future.'
Mr Bayford's best friend Richard Hudspith, 40, confirmed that Adrian was aware that his estranged wife was in a relationship with Mr Warnock and had a new home in Scotland.
He added: 'Adrian is not going to comment about that. He is away at the moment anyway.'
Mr Bayford and Mr Hudspith used to run a shop together in Haverhill, Suffolk, selling musical instruments and second-hand CDs and DVDs, but they closed the business soon after the Bayfords' win After their marriage fell apart, Mr Bayford moved out of the £6 million family mansion and into a more modest £500,000, four-bedroom house back in Haverhill, ten minutes away.
The Bayfords are not the only EuroMillions winners to suffer marriage difficulties in recent weeks. Days after the couple made their announcement, Dave Dawes, 49, and wife Angela, 46, revealed their split two years after bagging £101 million.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Les Scadding, 63, and wife Samantha, 42, who won £45.5 million in 2009, have divorced.
VIDEO: Watch the winners in happier times
"telling friends he is 'very happy' with his new circumstances."
HA!!! I bet he is!!! Got all that comission from selling her those cars and now he gets her bed too. What a lucky (??) guy!
he's a lucky guy for the money side....not so sure about the 'bed with her 'thing lol
She'll be dumping the car salesman too when something better comes along.
Her husband was the lucky one being able to get rid of her.
I agree.
exactly!
The car salesman is just a temporary plaything, that will be disposed of quite unceremoniously, in the near future. I can't believe he quit his job. What goes around comes around.
That ex-husband is the luckiest man alive. lol!! What a lucky fellow. Pocketed $100 million after the divorce and now free of 'that woman'. Good for him. I hope he's somehere in the South of France, the Maldives or in the Carribean on a yatch right now relaxing, or even in Monaco having a ball!!! Live it up Sir, your ex-wife did you a HUGE favor!!!
Not sure of the laws there but if were here and he could prove infidelity he could probably get half of HER money too.
another whiney winner. Jesus help me LAWD. being a millionaire is SO. HARD.
Maldives -- yes, that's exactly where I would go.
Totally agree. He sounds like he's better off without her.
Risky strategy ... why quit one's decent paying, full-time job for someone who is still married, has multiple children/heirs way ahead of self, and may not care to marry again? Doesn't this man wonder what happened to her predecessor boyfriend?
Regardless, I think Mr. and Mrs. Bayford's major, non-taxable jackpot win is super exciting! I hope each gets to enjoy for several decades!
Right. Wait till a Hyundai dealership opens up.
yep
Sugar Momma
Yep
Gotta love how money changes things. Good or bad.
She's with that fat guy now? That dude is huge lol!
He couldn't even fit in the heli. Wow lol.
LOL. That's her ex hubby not the car salesman... Hubby got 100 mill to lose his weight and most of it is his gold digger biotch wife..
Maybe these people will figure out that money doesn't buy happiness.
But, it sure can buy some nice things to keep you entertained.
Ha, ha, ha, ha,
That she is, lmaoooooooooo.
Karma will come for her soon enough and I hope her former hubby gets to watch
omg!!
I like to fly in helicopters Great Fun!!
The husband has nothing to worry about....MONEY BUYS BEAUTY!! Men want to win the lottery to attract women, women want to win the lottery for security. But....what do i know??
lol, I don't think they has a strong marriage to begin with.
First the gardener.............then the car salesman
The car salesman is helping her settle in ..... yea I bet he is
Gardener got the hell out of there before he got run over by a golf cart
Wonder how his marriage is working out for him now
Two other divorces mentioned in the article also
Funny how millions can make a person sexy isnt it
What an angel
What is Fame but an empty bubble.........Gold aint nothing but a shining trouble
Naturally coming into a large sum of money changes the people and everyone around them. If I were the estranged husband, I would undertake weight loss surgery, get a complete diagnosis of my health, especially the heart, put myself on a physical fitness transformation program, and get to living because it does not look like he gets around too much with all that excess weight.
Then with a "new" fit body I would start enjoying life absent that very unattractive ex wife. I would say more power to the car salesman guy running up in those mounds of fat...I am sure they have to use quite a bit of flour!
Give it time. We will read a future story about her being totally BROKE!!! Broke and single.
and if shes lucky an STD
The weight loss of apx. 290 lbs over the next 2.5 years would tremendously help this male, huge lottery jackpot winner! He could easily afford to: work in and on his music shop business part-time, hire a M-F full-time house keeper/low-calorie cook/exercise partner, and buy an indoor heated swimming pool, sauna, and whirlpool to use for an hour, each, daily. That would quickly become highly comforting, exhilarating, and productive!
Dont feel sorry for this naive softy. He got what he deserved. Can you just imagine how many boyfriends she has had on the side just at her hospital job over the years? I bet he had no clue. Naive nice guys finish last baby!
Just look at that 2 minute youtube clip. He sat there like the big puppy whipped dog that he is not saying a word except to grunt yes to everything she said. Good for her to rub it in more!
As to the ones talking karma don't count on it. She is road savvy to the hilt. She can date all these toy boys and then marry the audi dealership owner next who is probably worth 300 million or some other rich man!
Naive dufuss on the other hand will marry the first "hottie" that rubs his big belly or head and says: "I love you so much! <kisses>! Where have you been all my life sweetheart!" In 5 years he will be spliting it again by half!
Congrats on the title of this article! 5 stars! Could be worth 50,000 views easy!
What did he do to deserve this
No one should be cheated on! No matter how "naive" they appear.
Why do I foresee her broke and alone within the next few years and him wealthy and realizing how better off he is without her. That woman looks like she likes a whole lot of flash and not a lot of substance and she's going to keep attracting men who will only be around while they can use her. And now, while she's using her money to buy another mansion, pay for a spokeperson and paying for the man in her life, her soon-to-be ex bought a 4 bedroom house no doubt just to have a room each for his kids and perhaps a guest. And she was the one who had wanted the fleet of Audis.
She seems addicted to spending and he seems to be a-okay with the simpler side of things.
He'll definitely come out ahead of her financially.
*smh* The gardner then the carsalesman. I wonder who's next? Dibs on the limo driver. But I'll laugh myself silly if it turns out to be the manny.
And he was the one that bought the ticket
Too bad she hadnt already left ( all legal and final ) before he bought the ticket
Now that would have been nice
"I am sure they have to use quite a bit of flour!"
And he was able to secure 1/2 the winnings for himself since they divorced!!!
Yeah, I feel for the guy. He's better off. His soon to be ex wife on the other hand.. she's gonna blow it. Too bad, so sad.
Me? Ha, no spouse to worry about a lottery win screwing up the marriage. Ready and waiting.... bring it on....
LOL. That's exactly my thinking too. No spouse to shell out half to so bring it on.
And I'd definitely not allow some guy I just met to quit his job just so he can help me 'get settled into my new mansion' and in return pay for his upkeep. If he's fit and able bodied, he can keep right on working. She's an idiot.
OMG this story would have the same outcome even if there were no lottery money involved...this chick was a hoe before the money and she'll be one long after it's gone as well. All I can say is that Audi guy better get all he can less the stds she's probably carrying and get out
She's with a car salesman but it seems like her husband is the one who really traded up.
They always say whatever you were before will be magnified after winning big money.
You may be right, she just didn't suddenly change, she was probably like this before.
Well said
They always blame the wife! They both sound like idiots. Excuses, excuses!
One thing for certain is this .. we've learned from a lot of stories about Lottery winners that a poor jerk will still be a jerk after winning a fortune and blame the newfound wealth on his (or her) problems. I doubt if a marriage with a strong foundation based on love & trust would crash & burn after winning a fortune.
"They always blame the wife! They both sound like idiots. Excuses, excuses!"
I just went back and re-read the article and didn't see anything to make me think that the husband was an "idiot."
Unless you mean that he was an idiot in the sense that he stayed married to an insatiably horny slut for 9 years.
I agree. He seems like a nice guy who ended up being a door mat for the insatiable witch that he married.
Winning the lottery should not ruin relationships rather should help relationships stay stronger and last longer. I think the stress from winning the lottery is just used as a scapegoat for it is merely your decision if you will stay and fight together or will split and live as individual persons. Always remember that money can't by happiness.
well said ... I just hope that shes finds out the hard way she was better off whar she was