An Australian TikTokker has gone viral after sharing his experiences “growing up after winning the lottery.”
Jayden Clark was raised in Adelaide, Australia, with a sister, older brother and his mom and dad.
“Very normal, and definitely more of the lower-class income (bracket),” he told his followers, per the New York Post.
He said his family was living “paycheque to paycheque” and struggled to keep their home at times.
That all changed when Jayden’s dad – whom the son described as “a bit of a gambler” — bought a lottery ticket using the same numbers he always did.
“Overnight, we went from pretty decently poor to multi-millionaires,” Jayden said.
“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,” he added. “It wasn’t until years later that it made more sense to me why life was very different.”
At the time of the life-changing win, he recalled his mom announcing a “huge surprise” on the way home from school one day and incorrectly thinking his sister was pregnant.
“Mom and dad took us three kids into a room and literally just showed us a gigantic cheque,” he said.
While not fully grasping the gravity of the situation and that such a large, undisclosed sum would change the family’s lives, Jayden recalled his parents initially being “paranoid” about their privacy and overall safety.
He said they had “two weeks off school to plan how to do life,” as his parents didn’t have financial role models.
Their caution has paid dividends, Jayden said, as the family remains “comfortable.”
The windfall has had an impact on the family.
“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.”
It wasn’t until he later moved to Los Angeles that he said he finally felt accepted.
Jayden said his parents were generous will family and friends, but it hasn’t always felt natural.
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“We felt guilty for being so lucky,” he said, adding he felt what he described as “imposter syndrome” and hoped to connect with others who’ve have experienced similar scenarios.
Ultimately, though, he’s grateful for the experience.
“We have so many crazy stories — we’re this small-town family with no money that then takes limousines to the airport for an interstate trip.”