'Bogan Lottery Family': My parents won Lotto and I became a sudden rich kid

"Overnight, we went from pretty decently poor to multi millionaires. We didn't fit in anywhere." 

Aussie man Jayden Clark has done a fascinating "story time" on what it was like 'growing up after winning the lottery'.

We often hear about former winners who've squandered it all, or have lost their friends, but it's rare to hear how exactly they talk to their kids about the news, and how it impacts their childhoods and futures.

Clark explains what it was like for him, being from a "small town" like Adelaide - and it's eye-opening.

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"Growing up after winning the lottery"

"Today I'm going to do a story time on how we won the lottery. I had obvious reasons to never speak about this, because growing up, whenever anyone did know about it, they definitely had crazy perceptions of us immediately," Clark begins in his now-viral TikTok.

He continues, "I grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, with a sister, older brother, and mum and dad. Very normal, and definitely more of the lower class income [bracket]."

Clark describes the family as living "paycheck to paycheck" and even sometimes struggling to keep their home. Their fortunes changed when Jayden's dad, who he calls "a bit of a gambler", bought a Lotto ticket using the same numbers that he always did.

"Overnight, we went from pretty decently poor to multi millionaires.

"Life changed from there. Growing up, I was so young, I had no understanding of the lottery or money... and how unique it was to happen to us.

"It wasn't until years later that it made more sense to me why life was very different."

Image: JaydenClark21/TikTok

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"They showed us a gigantic cheque"

Clark shares an hilarious anecdote about his mum announcing a "huge surprise" on the way home from school one day, and he and his sister thinking she was pregnant.

Not quite.

"Mum and dad took us three kids into a room and literally just showed us a gigantic cheque."

Although he didn't realise the extent to which such a large sum would change their lives, Clark does recall his parents initially being "paranoid" about their privacy, in terms of their children's safety.

They also had "two weeks off school to plan how to do life," as his parents didn't have money role models.

Their careful consideration - which Clark largely credits to his mum - has literally paid off. Clark says that even a decade later, they are still "comfortable."

@jaydenclark21

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♬ original sound - Jayden Clark

"It had implications on us kids"

Clark admits that in hindsight, he can see how the win impacted him and his siblings.

"You have this weird mentality of work and the value of money... it never felt natural. I wanted to share my story, but also [I felt] embarrassed by it... we didn't deserve it, because we didn't work hard for it."

He describes living in a beautiful home, on a street with doctors, but still feeling as though they were the "Bogan Lottery Family."

He adds, "We'd feel out of place in between two realities... we were made to feel it wasn't anything to be proud of."

It wasn't until he later moved to Los Angeles, where people had "crazy" large lives, that he finally felt accepted. That point was discussed in the comments section of his clip, where some spoke about the 'Tall Poppy Syndrome' that exists in Australia.

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Clark recalls his parents were very generous with family and friends; principles that have stayed with him because in a way, "we felt guilty for being so lucky."

He describes the feeling as "imposter syndrome" in the comments, and has wanted to connect with people who've experienced the same thing.

But ultimately, he's grateful for the experience, and embraces his luck and freedoms.

"We have so many crazy stories - we're this small town family with no money that then takes limosines to the airport for an interstate trip."

Originally published as 'Bogan Lottery Family': My parents won Lotto and I became a sudden rich kid