When 34-year-old Callie Rogers won a staggering $50 million lottery jackpot, she thought her life had changed forever. And it did — but not in the way she imagined. What started as the ultimate dream spiraled into a cautionary tale of excess, loneliness, and self-destruction, after Rogers admitted she blew through her entire fortune in less than a decade — at one point spending more than $131,000 every single week.
“People think winning the lottery fixes everything,” Rogers told BBC News. “But for me, it destroyed the person I was. You go from having nothing to having everything, and suddenly, everyone wants a piece of you.”
Rogers’ story has resurfaced after a new documentary detailed how she went from millionaire to broke, revealing a lifestyle fueled by luxury cars, lavish vacations, cosmetic surgeries, and extravagant parties. “I couldn’t stop spending,” she said. “It was like the money was burning a hole in my hand. Every day felt like I had to live bigger than the day before.”
“She had it all — and lost it all. $50 million gone in eight years.” @guardian
According to the film, Rogers purchased multiple homes, gifted friends cars, and spent thousands on designer clothes, nightclubs, and cosmetic enhancements. She estimates that she gave away nearly $5 million to acquaintances who “disappeared the moment the money ran out.” “They weren’t friends,” she said. “They were vultures. I just couldn’t see it at the time.”
At the height of her fortune, Rogers was reportedly spending $131,000 a week — more than most people earn in several years — on shopping sprees and wild nights out. “There were days I’d wake up with 20 people in my house, music still playing, champagne bottles everywhere, and I’d have no idea who half of them were,” she admitted. “That’s when I started to realize the money was owning me.”
Her reckless spending wasn’t just about materialism — it was emotional. “I was so young and so lost,” she said in an interview with ITV. “I kept trying to buy happiness, but all I bought was chaos.”
“Money doesn’t buy peace — it buys noise. And I had too much of it.” — Callie Rogers @reuters
Rogers’ wealth quickly attracted the wrong kind of attention. Tabloids hounded her, relationships crumbled under pressure, and she struggled with depression and addiction. In one heartbreaking segment, she recalls sitting alone in her massive, empty mansion after a fight with friends — wondering how her dream had turned into a nightmare. “The silence was louder than any party I’d ever thrown,” she said softly.
By the time she was 42, the money was gone. Every investment had collapsed, every property sold, every car repossessed. “It vanished faster than I could blink,” she said. “One day, you’re everyone’s best friend. The next, you’re invisible.”
Financial experts say her story is far from unique. “Around 70% of lottery winners end up broke within five years,” said CNBC analyst Richard Barnett. “When people who’ve never had wealth suddenly receive it, they rarely have the tools to manage it. It becomes more of a curse than a blessing.”
Rogers now lives a modest life, working part-time and raising her two children in a small town in northern England. She says she’s happier now than she ever was during her millionaire years. “I don’t have fancy cars or designer bags anymore,” she said. “But I have peace. And that’s something $50 million couldn’t buy.”
“She lost the money but found herself.” @people
In one of the most emotional moments of the documentary, Rogers reads aloud from her old bank statements — line after line of transactions: hotels, clubs, jewelry, luxury cars. “It’s like watching someone else’s life,” she says. “Someone who was trying to fill a hole that money could never fill.”
Now, Rogers has become an unlikely advocate for financial education among young people. She’s been working with MoneySavingExpert to promote responsible spending habits, especially for those who suddenly come into wealth. “If I could go back, I’d tell myself: slow down, trust fewer people, and never try to buy happiness,” she said. “It’s not for sale.”
Her story, though tragic, has struck a chord online. Millions have shared her interviews, calling her experience a “modern-day morality tale.” One user wrote on Reddit: “This isn’t greed — it’s human. She didn’t know how to live with wealth, and it destroyed her. But at least she lived to learn from it.”
When asked whether she’d take the money again if given the chance, Rogers paused for a long moment. “Honestly?” she said. “No. I’d rather be broke and peaceful than rich and empty.”
