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Belgian EuroMillions Pair Who Met After Shared Win Keep Life Steady Three Years Later

Their low-key choices echo research finding lasting gains in satisfaction without guaranteeing an easier life.

Overview

  • On December 6, 2022, 165 players at Olmen’s De Pershoek split a €142.9 million EuroMillions jackpot, giving Johan, 63, and Wendy, 49, more than €860,000 each.
  • They met at a winners’ meeting and became a couple, choosing to stay private and avoid conspicuous spending.
  • They bought a roughly €400,000 home and an electric Ford Mustang, invested about one-fifth of the prize, gave money to Johan’s three children, and traveled to Vietnam, Las Vegas, Thailand and Canada.
  • Johan kept working as a supervisor at Action Park Hasselt and as a football coach, and the pair still split restaurant bills with friends.
  • Johan had a stroke in February 2025 with no lasting damage, as experts urge prudence and discretion for winners and a 2020 Oxford study links big wins to durable increases in life satisfaction.