Man moves out of home without telling girlfriend they'd won $6.2m lotto
Instead of a $6.2 million lotto win bringing good fortune to one Canadian couple, it spelt the end of their relationship.
It took just five days for Maurice Thibeault to move out of the home he had shared with now ex-girlfriend Denise Robertson since 2015 without telling her.
Ms Robertson said the couple routinely bought a ticket in the Lotto 6/49 draw in Ontario with a dream to win big, CBC reports.
She said they agreed they would share the money if they ever won but Mr Thibeault clearly had other ideas.
He purchased the ticket last month that ultimately won him half of the $12.2 million jackpot but didn't tell his girlfriend.
Ms Robertson heard on the radio the next day that there was a winner in their town and she quickly texted Mr Thibeault to see if their ticket was a winner.
An exchange of the couple's text messages to one another was revealed in a statement about the win.
Robertson: “Did you buy a 649 tix for last night?”
Thibeault: “Yes”
Robertson: “OMG …check it!!!”
Thibeault: “I will need to check my ticket”
Robertson: “12 million—2 winners …Chatham and Quebec”
Thibeault: “That would be nice” “I don’t need all of it” “Just a small piece”
Robertson: “yup …I’ll start planning the floor plan of the house”
Thibeault: “Ok”
He told her he didn't have a winning ticket and just four days later packed up and moved out.
Ms Robertson said she missed the warning signs
“When I look back, I recall that he did approximately 15 loads of laundry of all his clothes the night prior, and didn’t put them into the drawers and closets as if he was preparing to pack up and leave,” she said in the statement.
Mr Thibeault's plans for the money have been stalled after Ms Robertson hired lawyers who were able to get a court injunction to freeze the payment.
Ontario's lottery regulator, the OLG, now needs to determine the rightful owner of the ticket, something the company does for any prize over $1000.
The couple's situation is similar to that of a Sydney man, who earlier last year claimed he had been cheated out of his share of a $40m Powerball win with his workmates.
Father of five, Brendan King lost his bid in court for a share in the Powerball jackpot won by his 14 workmates in a Liverpool factory syndicate.
