Lottery Winner Forced To Pay Ex-Wife £2m
3:46pm UK, Monday November 22, 2010
Jenny Wotherspoon, Sky News Online
A £56m lottery winner has been forced to pay a chunk of his jackpot to his ex-wife who walked out on him 10 years ago for another man.
Nigel Page with his second wife Justine
Euromillions winner Nigel Page agreed to give his former partner £2m in an out-of-court settlement, after she tried to sue him for four times as much.
According to The Sun newspaper, Mr Page had an earlier offer of £1m turned down.
The settlement fee awarded to 43-year-old Wendy is thought to be the first time a former partner has recieved a pay-out from a UK lottery winner.
Divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt said there are two reasons Mr Page may have been obliged to settle.
"It's likely to be that the couple had a split settlement or that he was paying ongoing maintenance.
What people don't realise is that if you're paying ongoing maintanence and you get a windfall, your ex can always go back and claim some of that money.