The family of Jayden Clark, 22, bagged a huge windfall nearly 10 years ago but the young lottery winner has opened up on his ‘winner’s guilt’ and what it’s really like to win it big
Jayden told his story on TikTok(Image: jaydenclark21/X)
A lottery winner has opened up about what it’s really like to win millions at a young age. Jayden Clark, now 22 and from Adelaide, Australia, shared his story of how his life changed forever when his family hit the jackpot nearly a decade ago.
Jayden recalled coming home from school one day, only to have his mum announce she had a huge surprise for him and his siblings. They thought it might be big news like another sibling on the way but instead their parents revealed a massive lottery win, showing them a “gigantic” cheque.
In a TikTok video, Jayden explained: “I remember not thinking much of it other than just the excitement my parents had. At that age, I had no understanding of money or how much this would change our lives.”
Jayden recalled coming home from school one day to find his parents hit the jackpot(Image: jaydenclark21/X)
The family took two weeks off school to figure out what to do next. “We didn’t know anyone who had any money, so we had to figure it all out ourselves,” Jayden said. Overnight, they went from being “pretty decently poor” to becoming multi-millionaires, reports Metro.
But the life-changing win wasn’t all positive, especially for Jayden. Reflecting on the impact, he said: “It had a big impact on us all, especially us kids. You have this weird mentality about work and the value of money. Winning the lottery makes it hard to feel like a normal person.”
For years, he struggled with guilt and feeling like he didn’t belong. He added: “At home, I felt like an outcast. I felt guilty for having the money. For a long time, I wanted to share my story, but then I’d feel embarrassed by it. Very often, we felt out of place and like we didn’t fit in anywhere – that’s the truth.”
‘It had a big impact on us all, especially us kids'(Image: jaydenclark21/X)
Eventually, Jayden found a sense of normalcy when he moved to Los Angeles. He said: “Not until I came to LA did I feel like I belonged and was normal, because there’s so many crazy people here with crazy lives.”
Today, Jayden’s parents no longer have their millions, but they’ve set themselves up to live comfortably.