I'm Poor but Happy

I'm Poor but Happy - When Callie Rogers won almost £2million on the lottery aged 16, she hoped it would help her put her troubles behind her. The teenager came from a broken home, had dropped out of school and was living in local authority care.

But instead she became addicted to drugs and attempted suicide three times as her life unravelled. She says the money brought her only misery – and now she is down to her last £100,000, she has never been happier.

Now 22, she said: ‘Just a few months ago I was taking too many drugs and hated myself. I simply did not want to live any more.

‘But now I have a new man and am finally becoming the woman I want to be. And it’s only after I’ve spent most of my fortune that this has finally happened.’

Miss Rogers, from Cockermouth, Cumbria, won £1.9million on the National Lottery in 2003. She went on a massive spending spree, splashing out on four homes for her family, flash cars, designer clothes, partying and breast implants.

A fortnight after her win she met unemployed Nicky Lawson, 29. They have a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

But during their relationship she spent £250,000 on cocaine. She suffered depression and tried to take her life, the final time earlier this year after losing custody of her children because of her mental state.

She told Closer magazine, in which she poses nude with only banknotes to preserve her modesty, that she was determined to win them back.

‘I’ve made an appointment to see a doctor as I need help to deal with my depression,’ she said.

‘I need to get my act together and make my kids proud, and for the first time I really do think that’s possible.’

She credits her new boyfriend with giving her the stable home life she has always craved, and she now hopes to go to college and eventually become a counsellor.

‘After all I’ve endured, I think I have a lot of advice to offer,’ she said.