"I didn't want our life to turn upside down": Woman hides her lottery winnings from her husband… for a GOOD reason
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In a story that was posted on the popular forum site Reddit, one woman shared that she once won the lottery, amounting to almost half a million dollars.
However, she also admitted that she hid her winnings from her fiance (now husband) for several years… and she claimed that it was all for a good reason.
It was in August 2014 when the woman, whom we’ll call Rachel (not her real name) for this story, learned that she had won the lottery.
Her total jackpot prize amounted to around $480,000 after taxes, and according to her, it wasn't exactly a "fortune", but big enough to make a huge difference in her and her fiance's life.
"Most people would be over the moon, but I panicked," she recalled.
"I didn't want our life to turn upside down because we had extra money now."
Mike was Rachel's fiance at the time, and according to her, he had a tendency to spend money on things they didn't need. "I didn't want our money to blow quickly on stupid stuff like cars and clothes," she continued.
To protect her money from unnecessary spending, and since she was still "legally" single at the time, she decided to stay tight-lipped about her winnings.
"I was able to accept it anonymously without the need to tell anyone else. So I didn't," she said. "Not a single soul. Not my husband, my parents, siblings, best friends, etc. Only the state and federal governments."
Rachel also decided that it would be best to invest the money somewhere else so that it could grow throughout the years. So she opened a new bank account with a national credit union and deposited the cheque.
She also consulted with a financial advisor named Keith to guide her into investing in local businesses and real estate. "And that's that," she said. "It's been sitting there ever since, just growing."
Rachel was able to accept the prize money anonymously without the need to tell anyone else. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto.
One late afternoon, Rachel was doing the dishes and getting ready to start making dinner when her phone started ringing. "I can't get to it but I figure I'll just call them back," she thought.
Then she heard a text message come in. At the time, Mike recently went into the kitchen so he glanced at her phone to let her know who texted and called her.
Apparently, it was her financial advisor, Keith, informing her that her account just hit $1 million after one of the companies she invested in recently soared in value.
Needless to say, Mike was left stunned and speechless after the surprising revelation.
Her husband, Mike, eventually found out about her seven-year secret. Credit: Getty Images.
After finding out about the secret his wife had been hiding from him for several years, Mike took some time away from Rachel to come to terms with what he was feeling.
"It took him a few hours to finally be able to really talk to me…" said Rachel. "At the end of the silence he told me he’s proud of me for investing in our future but he needs a few days to clear his head because he feels like I hid a huge part of 'myself' from him."
Thankfully, Mike eventually cleared his mind and accepted the seven-year secret his wife hid from him.
"He agreed he would have spent the money on dumb things if he'd won it and is happy that I put it away," she said. "Little less happy that I didn’t tell him about it for so long, but he said he doesn’t care and doesn’t want this getting in the way of our marriage."
Now, the couple is said to be living comfortably with their million-dollar ‘emergency fund’. Rachel's on a $60,000-a-year salary while Mike earns $85,000 yearly, so there was never any need for them to carelessly spend the lottery winnings.
"We set some ground rules for the [investment] money moving forward," said Rachel, adding that they both agreed never to tell anyone of their savings and they will only use it in emergencies and pre-discussed things.
What are your thoughts, folks?
Would you have done the same as Rachel? Or would you take the chance and tell your spouse or family members about your lottery winnings?