Man Wants To Share Lottery Winnings With His Ex Who Is Raising Their Children, His Girlfriend Isn’t Happy About It

Dec 08, 2022 by apost team

They say the course of true love never does run smoothly, which can be said for one man who found himself torn between two women after coming into unexpected wealth.

After finding that he had won the lottery and was set to get enough money to set him up for life, he soon found he wanted to make amends for past mistakes. About six years before his stroke of luck, he had cheated on his wife and they divorced. She then cared for their two children while he still dated the woman with whom he had the affair. Because his ex-wife was a good person who had been so accommodating during the divorce process and because she was caring for their children, he wanted to give her a “significant amount” of his winnings. However, his girlfriend’s reaction sowed seeds of doubt about his decision, leading him to take to Reddit to get the community’s feedback on his dilemma.

In a post uploaded to the site, the man explained he was the recipient of enough money “to change the life of myself and my family.”

He continued: “My ex-wife is the mother of my 2 kids. She is an amazing woman and good to the bone. We divorced 6 years ago because I had an affair with my current partner. I was in a low place in my life and I f****d up. She was in incredible pain but – like a f*****g saint – she allowed me to still see our kids who mean the world to me, allowed our divorce to be as pain-free as possible despite the fact that I know she was hurting. She still is close with my parents. She is respectful to me although she refuses to talk to my gf.”

The man explained in the post uploaded in March 2019: 

“She was actually the first person I phoned after my mom and pops after I found out I won the lottery. She was pleased for me, joked that I could take the kids on a world round trip, and that was that. Nothing else. As soon as I won, I knew I wanted to give her a significant amount. I still love her. She’s the mother of my babies and I feel like this is some small tiny way I can show her that I’m not a complete (failure)."

He went on to say she deserved “to know that I care despite my mistakes. She also works a shitty job in the public library which pays her peanuts — she would actually be able to pursue her hobbies this way. Give our kids a better life between us. I haven’t discussed this with my ex yet, but I have with my parents who strongly agree and my lawyer who was very surprised but on board.”

However, he soon ran into trouble when he discussed the matter with his girlfriend.

“When I told my gf, she was livid. Screaming that I’m disrespecting her, accusing me of still being in love with my ex-wife — I’m not in love with her. We’ve both grown apart, but of course, I still love her for being an excellent co-parenting partner and mother to my kids. My gf is threatening to break up with me, and tbh I’m feeling incredibly relieved over the threats,” he wrote before asking the community what they thought. The post garnered more than 5,400 comments, but opinions were thoroughly divided.

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Many believed the girlfriend was unsympathetic or immature, as one commenter wrote: “Your money, your decision. I suspect the anger from your gf is probably just insecurity given the nature of how your relationship with her started.”

Others sided with the girlfriend, however. Another comment read: “They’ve been ‘dating’ for more than six years, yet she is still just the affair partner … I think his girlfriend is rightfully worried they will never be serious.”

However, the man also found himself at the receiving end of criticism, too.

“Sounds like OP cheated on his wife and ever since feels guilty about it and the gf is paying for it,” wrote one reader.

“It sounds like he's still in love with his ex-wife and hopes this money will show her what a good person he is. Most of the post is about how amazing the ex-wife is and then like 2 sentences of his gf. Not surprised she was upset, sounds like their relationship is not a priority for him,” another comment read.

Yet others sided with him, as one person wrote, “his reason for giving the money to his ex is completely respectable as it seems heavily impacted by not only his guilt but also the financial support of his children.”

Meanwhile, the raging debate allowed the man to reflect on his actions. Prompted by a comment, he wrote:

“I think this is a good start to righting the many wrongs I’ve done. I was terrified when my affair was discovered because I thought my kids, who are literally the best thing that ever happened to me, would be alienated from me. Ex-wife never ever made them feel like I didn’t love them even though arguably they are the ones who got hurt the most from this. I’ll never forget that kindness.”

What do you think the man should do? Was his girlfriend right to be upset about what he wanted to do with the money he won? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this on to family and friends to get their opinions, too.