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Who would have thought that winning the lottery could ruin your life? Marie Holmes, a struggling mom of four from North Carolina, never imagined her luck would change overnight. When the single mom realized she was the owner of a winning lottery ticket, she was filled with joy and excitement and knew that her life would never look the same.

However, with more money comes more problems and Marie found herself trapped in an impossible situation. The church that she loved and trusted had become her worst enemy and the millions that she earned have become the source to her problems. This is the story of the single mom who thought she had it all only to realize she couldn’t be more wrong.

Click ‘ Start Slideshow ’ to read this unbelievable story.

The Struggling Single Mom

Marie Holmes found herself growing up in a low-income neighborhood. Her family came from poverty, and she continued that cycle in her early adolescence. She worked hard for where she was, but she had a strained relationship with those closest to her. Young Marie Holmes chose to find comfort with her high school boyfriend to escape the rough childhood she had. One thing led to another, and Marie Holmes found herself pregnant with her first child. She had two additional children with her high school sweetheart before they parted ways. Marie found a new boyfriend, and eventually had another child with him.

At the time, with four children under the age of 6, the young mother was just 25 years old. She was struggling to make ends meet, and had little help from the two fathers of her children. Marie Holmes worked minimum wage paying jobs from McDonalds to Walmart to try and pay the bill on the trailer they lived in. She was at a loss of what to do, which led her to take advantage of small lottery tickets.

Click ‘Next’ to find out if Marie Holmes had the money to get the lottery ticket she needed.

Buying Lottery Tickets

One day, Marie Holmes asked her mother to pick her up some lottery tickets. She gave her mom $15 to do so, and she bought a few with this money. She later felt lucky, and decided to take a gamble. She gave her mom $15 more to purchase a few additional lottery tickets. The decision was made with a lot of thought because she didn’t have a lot of money to spare for these things.

Marie Holmes didn’t have a lot of money at the time, so this small and precious amount was all she had to try to win with the lottery’s impossible odds. She had a 1 in 170 million chance of winning, so Marie Holmes hoped, but didn’t expect much. She held on to those few tickets she purchased, and waited with baited breath as they called the lottery winners.

Did Marie’s tickets win? Click ‘Next’ to see how she actually won the lottery.

Winning the Reward

Marie Holmes was over the moon when the lottery read off her numbers. It was one of the happiest moments she had ever experienced. She couldn’t believe that one of the tickets she had purchased actually won. She told news stations that she scared her children half to death because she was screaming so loud. It felt like the wildest dream to her, and she knew their life was about to change.

The struggling single mom was running around their trailer telling her children that they would no longer struggle. The young kids may not have known what she was talking about, but Marie Holmes said it regardless. Tears of happiness streamed down her face as she checked those numbers on the ticket over and over again, just to ensure that she really did win.

You’ll never believe what she did next. Click ‘Next’ to find out!

Life Changing Circumstances

Winning the lottery changes your life in an instant, and Marie Holmes couldn’t wait to change hers. Leading a life of hard struggles, she was ready to get out of poverty. She was given the choice of receiving smaller payments over the next few years, or take a lump sum of cash. Knowing how hard her and her children had struggled, she chose to take the lump sum of $122 million dollars. This amounted to about $88 million dollars after taxes were taken out.

She went to accept the larger than life check on live TV, and she showed up looking like a different person. She went and got a makeover that was fit for the millionaire she had just become. With a spiffy new suit, she stepped out into the new world and became the millionaire version of Marie Holmes.

Marie made some big changes with her new fortune. Click ‘Next’ to see what happened.

Life Upgrades

Marie Holmes was determined to change her life, and she started upgrading by purchasing new items. The first thing to go was the trailer she was raising her children in. She moved into a large plantation style home in a gated community. Because she had this newly acquired fortune, she also hired security to watch over and protect the family from being looted or robbed.

Marie began buying new clothes for her children, herself, and her mother. She made sure that everyone looked the part of being a millionaire, and she was overjoyed they were no longer struggling. The lottery winner focused on creating a healthier environment for her four children, especially the oldest who had cerebral palsy. These were just the beginnings of her new life, but her fortune started slowly going down the drain.

Did she lose it all? Click ‘Next’ to find out!

Hard Times Ahead

Even though she was a huge lottery winner, Marie Holmes began to realize that life remained the same as it always had. The father of her youngest child, Ebony, was a known drug dealer throughout the area. Just because they suddenly walked into money didn’t mean that they left the harsh world of their gang behind.

Her boyfriend, Lamarr McDow, increased the amount of drug dealing he was doing, too. He believed that living in the house that they did, with the money they had, would diffuse the cops on their tail. Unfortunately, that outcome didn’t end up being true for Lamarr, and he was arrested multiple times.

You won’t believe how she spent her money. Click ‘Next’ to see the controversial decision.

Bailing Out Her Baby Daddy

The single mom’s boyfriend was in jail, stuck with a few million dollars in bail attached to his name. He was arrested multiple times, and Marie Holmes felt that she had nothing else to do but bail him out of jail. The news surrounding Marie Homes’ name quickly became negative, but she continued paying her boyfriend’s bail of $21 million.

Her fortune was on the line, but she chose to bail out the man who meant the world to her. She didn’t realize how quickly lottery money could diminish, but she kept her head high as she bailed him out. Marie Holmes grew up around gangs, and had multiple family members incarcerated growing up. She was no stranger to jail cells, so she wanted her boyfriend out as soon as possible. Time and time again Marie bailed out Lamarr.

Click ‘Next’ to see the first charge that Marie Holmes’ boyfriend was arrested for.

Boyfriend’s Drug Charge

Marie Holmes is the only lottery winner who has shelled out so much money for bail. The first time her boyfriend ended up in jail, Marie Holmes paid the $3 million bail without a second thought. He was arrested for drug charges, and he was a well known drug dealer in the area. The cops had wanted him to stay in jail, which was why the bail was set for so high.

However, the cops didn’t think that Lamarr “Hotsauce” McDow would have a girlfriend who just recently won $88 million from the lottery. She was working at the Walmart before, and Lamarr was dealing his drugs and staying home with the kids for the most part. She received a lot of attention for bailing him out with $3 million, but it would only continue to get worse.

You won’t believe why the bail doubles. Click ‘Next’ to find out!

Not Showing Up for Court

You would think that after having a girlfriend who shelled out $3 million for you that you would be a bit grateful. The least you could do would be attend your court date to make sure that you are not arrested again. Well, Lamarr McDow apparently doesn’t think that far ahead. Instead of making sure he would not be arrested again, he missed his court date completely.

Since that constituted as a violation of his parole, Lamarr McDow was sent to jail again. Now, many people would allow their man to rot in prison to teach them a lesson, but Marie Holmes is too kind for that. This time, she paid even more to get him out of jail! His bail was set at $6 million, and once again Marie Holmes paid it without a second thought. She was once again thrust into the public eye for her choices.

The bail doubles once again. Click ‘Next’ to see what Lamarr McDow did this time.

Illegal Street Racing

If you thought it couldn’t get worse, we hate to say that it does. One person might say third time is the charm, but not in Lamarr McDow’s case. Once again, he found himself in the wrong end of the police car. It was New Year’s, and Lamarr just wanted to have some fun with his friends. However, Lamarr’s idea of fun just happens to be illegal.

He was once again arrested, but this time it wasn’t due to drugs. He was arrested for illegal street racing. Determined to keep this man off the streets, Lamarr McDow’s bail was set even higher than before. They set his bail at $12 million this time. Marie decided to bail him out for the third time, which ended up making her spend $21 million on bailing out her boyfriend. When she started receiving even more flack for what she did Lamarr came out and said, “We are a couple, and I am the father of her youngest child… She has the money and she can do what she wants with it… People are just jealous because of how much she won and people want to see me locked up in jail.” Hopefully he was worth it.

After all Marie did for him you won’t believe how Lamarr is spending the money. Find out by clicking ‘Next.’

Boyfriend Misusing the Money

Besides the sprawling plantation style house and new cars that Marie Holmes bought, she was determined to use her money for the betterment of her children. While this ideal was met with a hiccup when she spent almost a fourth of her money on bailing out her boyfriend, she tried to turn her life around and donate to good causes.

However, it seems that her partner didn’t have the same idea. There were reports of Lamarr McDow misusing the money. Women on social media recorded videos saying that he was a cheater, and that he was using Marie Holmes’ money to pay for the rich neighborhood women to perform inappropriate acts on him. While this was never confirmed nor denied, there were some women set on making Lamarr McDow look even worse.

Would Marie shell out more money? Find out by clicking ‘Next.’

Paying Off Mistresses

When light was shed on the whole mistress situation, things seemed to get a little rocky between Marie Holmes and Lamarr McDow. Some thought that they would finally be calling it quits, but she decided to stick by him once again. Since Marie Holmes has children with him she wanted to try her best to keep their family together.

Many people think that Marie Holmes actually paid off the mistresses that Lamarr McDow was involved with. To keep their family name from being trashed even further, throwing a little money their way was not beyond Marie Holmes. Since the mistresses weren’t heard of again, it could be very possible that she did pay them off.

All of Marie’s efforts were wasted. Find out why by clicking ‘Next.’

Going to Prison Anyway

Unfortunately, Marie Holmes just can’t catch a break. Even though she spent $21 million on bail for Lamarr McDow, he is still going to prison. He’s going to be in the slammer for seven years. This time, the charges are due to drugs.

He was charged with conspiracy to distribute heroine. This is a very big charge, and Lamarr McDow is definitely going to be serving some time before he can be on parole. What a disappointment that must have been to Marie after spending so much on someone. It’s a figurative slap in the face.

Why did Marie Holmes have such a hard time? Find out why by clicking ‘Next.’

Harsh Feedback

What Marie didn’t realize was that everything she did was going to be blasted in the public eye. The stories online became increasingly negative, but the comments were worse. People were commenting on all of the online stories, and her social media accounts, about how her decision was stupid and immature.

Most women chided Marie Holmes, telling her that a man who lets her waste her fortune on bailing him out of jail is not someone she should want to be with. She soon became a viral story, her each and every move being analyzed. Throughout all the feedback and comments, Marie stood by her lover, and they remained a strong force.

Was that negative media coverage Marie’s fault? Click ‘Next’ to learn more.

Adjusting to the Spotlight

Many look at Marie Holmes and chastise her for the decisions she has made. While her decisions have been anything but great, she isn’t all to be blamed here either. Unless you’re a celebrity, no one is used to having every choice in their life broadcasted across the news.

Most of the unfortunate circumstances that came upon Marie Holmes and her money was because she was adjusting to the money and spotlight. She was the only lottery winner who wasn’t anonymous, so people were looking at her under a microscope to see what she would do with all of her money.

Click ‘Next’ to find out if Marie Holmes was as innocent as she seemed.

A Drug Possession Charge

While Marie Holmes’ boyfriend was charged multiple times with dealing drugs, it appeared that she wasn’t all innocent herself. In 2015, alongside with Lamarr, Marie Holmes’ found herself being charged with a drug possession charge.

When police showed up at her home, she was charged with the crime for the marijuana she possessed. All four of her children were home at the time this charge happened, and she made news once again. Her home was searched, and they found her in possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. She was not arrested, but she did have to pay a fine for the charge.

Did Marie turn her life around? Click ‘Next’ to find out!

Donating to Church

Marie Holmes’ life hadn’t been all rainbows after winning the lottery, but that didn’t stop her from thanking God. She was a woman who often attended her church services, and she thought it was time to pay back God.

With the millions of dollars she had left, Marie Holmes decided to donate roughly $700,000 dollars to her local church. This money was going to be used to help out the children in the area, and the church was going to expand its charity. The money was well received, and Marie Holmes felt good about her decision to donate to the church she loved.

Click ‘Next’ to see how Marie’s donation wasn’t enough.

Helping Form a Retreat

As time went on, Marie Holmes began talking to Pastor Kevin Matthews. Kevin Matthews came to Marie Holmes’ home on multiple occasions, meeting with her and providing prayer sessions. Holmes’ family would welcome this pastor to share spiritual messages, and give them church devotion when he came over.

Pastor Kevin Matthews approached Marie Holmes with talk of purchasing a large space of land. This purchased land was going to serve as the church’s new retreat facility, and was meant to help members become closer to God and Jesus Christ. The two supposedly talked about donating an amount anywhere between $1-2 million, and then they agreed that Marie Holmes would donate $1.5 million.

Would this donation appease God? Click ‘Next’ to find out!

The Lord’s Greedy Servant

Kevin Matthews and Marie Holmes allegedly made a verbal agreement to purchase the land with Holmes’ donated $1.5 million. Kevin Matthews wanted more, but Marie Holmes agreed upon that amount. As time went on, however, the money didn’t come through.

Kevin Matthews called Marie Holmes in hope of gathering the money she owed him. Instead, he was met with silence. Pastor Kevin Matthews became greedy, telling Marie Holmes that she promised to provide this money to better the church. He insisted that he owed her this, but Marie Holmes did not send over the money.

Click ‘Next’ to find out if it was really Marie who said no.

Family Controlling Money

When the money still didn’t come, Pastor Kevin Matthews became impatient. He reached out to Marie Holmes again, but instead was met with the voice of Marie’s aunt. Marie’s aunt was the chief executive officer of the lottery winner’s newly formed charity, and she took the opportunity to help out with her finances.

When Kevin Matthews demanded the money, Marie’s aunt was astonished that a pastor would even ask for such a large donation. She prodded the pastor and asked him if Marie had promised the money to him. Apparently being a man of his word, since he’s a pastor, he chose not to lie. He told Marie’s aunt that she had never said the word “promise,” but that the verbal agreement was there.

Find out what happens when they refused to donate by clicking ‘Next.’

The Jaw Dropping Law Suit

While Holmes believed the money donation was something that would be swept under the rug, they were astonished in early 2016 when a lawsuit came instead. Marie Holmes suddenly found herself on the wrong end of a $10 million lawsuit.

While the allegedly agreed upon amount was just $1.5 million, Kevin Matthews was suing for a far greater amount. He believed that he was owed more money because of what Marie Holmes had put him through during the whole experience.

Was the pastor insane? Click ‘Next’ to read why he filed a lawsuit.

Kevin Matthews’ Reasoning

Kevin Matthews was suing for far more than chump change, and the lawsuit became a viral story. He stated that he didn’t want some huge amount of money, he was just needing what was promised and owed to him. The whole experience was very stressful for Kevin Matthews, and he claimed that he had to increase the dosing of his antidepressant and antianxiety medications.





Because of the distress this situation with Marie Holmes caused him, he decided to create a $10 million lawsuit to try and remedy things. Not only was the family shocked behind his reasoning, but he also became a villain in the viral stories. Pastors are generally known for being kind and giving, but this pastor was coming off as greedy and selfish.

Did the lawsuit hold any water? Click ‘Next’ to find out!

What the Lawyers Say

Pastor Kevin Matthews filed the lawsuit without a lawyer, but Marie Holmes had one is her arsenal. The lawsuit of Kevin Matthews was generally dismissed by many as frivolous, but it still had the family in shock.

Marie Holmes lawyer, Ruth Sheehan, was no stranger to the legal problems the Holmes family had gone through. However, when asked about the pastor’s large lawsuit, she dismissed it and said she didn’t know much about it. They didn’t let the lawsuit bother them in the limelight, but Ruth Sheehan must have had some type of plan up her sleeve. The lawsuit wasn’t heard of much after the end of 2016, and the update on what happened is still up in the air.

The lawsuit really had no grounds. Click ‘Next’ to read what we think happened.

Lawsuit Unfounded

The lawsuit really didn’t make a lot of sense. Why would Marie Holmes decide to donate over a million dollars to someone she had hardly known? The church she had been going to for years only received $700,000 from her, so giving Mathews so much money seemed pretty hard to believe.

It would seem that the lawyers of Marie Holmes were probably right when they said that the lawsuit was seen as frivolous. Either Marie Holmes did some type of payoff, or it was settled away from the media because we don’t know what happened after the lawsuit was filed.

The story doesn’t end here. Click ‘Next’ to learn what happens next!

Controversial Lottery Winner

Marie Holmes may just be the most controversial lottery winner the world has seen. While her struggling story of being a young single mom to four children wooed the nation, her façade quickly came tumbling down. Her fiancé’s many arrests, and being known as a drug dealer, quickly snuffed out her sweetheart image to the press.

Her money was becoming less and less as time went on, and the things she spent it on were often considered wrong. Marie Holmes found herself becoming multiple viral stories, and she was painted as someone who was too immature to handle her money. The lottery winner was obviously overwhelmed with going from nothing to everything, and she didn’t know how to manage money. She gave up her education to become a young mom, so her financial skills were nonexistent.

You won’t believe where Marie showed up. Click ‘Next’ to find out.

More Money, More Problems

Marie Holmes was out of her element. With the large sum of money, she was met with many problems. She found herself with a strained relationship with her boyfriend turned fiancé, problems with her mother, and her money disappearing faster than she could imagine.

The lottery winner decided to seek help from a kind source who was eager to show her the ropes of managing money. She appeared on Fix My Life, where the host, Iyanla, tried to mend the relationship between Marie and her mother. Even though Marie had helped provide for her mother after winning the large sum of money from the lottery, she didn’t feel she could please her. Iyanla worked to help their relationship, and gave Marie advice on keeping her financials locked down tight.

More on how Iyanla helped Marie and her family in ways she could never imagine. Click ‘Next’.

A Lotto Drama

In case you’re not familiar with the show, Iyanla: Fix My Life is a reality show owned by the Oprah Winfrey Network where the host, Iyanla Vanzant tries to help different people overcome all kinds of problems they are faced with in life. The life coach meets with her guests at their homes while she tried to bring a new and fresh angle to an existing situation. She also keeps the audience updated on her guests’ progress.

The episode which featured Marie Holmes is named ‘Lotto Drama’ where she tries to help the single mom of four who might not be struggling financially anymore but is indeed struggling with other personal issues in her life after her big win. Marie’s life has become chaotic since winning the lottery and Iyanla is there to help her see things in different perspectives.

Will the famous mentor be able to save Marie, who was once a struggling single mother? Click ‘Next’ to find out.

Trying to Gain Clarity

When she went on the show Fix My Life, it was because she wanted to seek clarity in her life. Marie Holmes knew that she was not making the best choices with her money, and adjusting to being wealthy didn’t help her circumstances. Marie quickly found herself losing her grip on what she considered to be a normal and healthy life.

Going on the show was her way to try and adjust. While it isn’t as good as trying to get help from a licensed professional, it was a wake up call for what she needed to do to change her life around. Marie was hoping that the show could give her some clarity on how to adjust to her financial success.

When Iyanla finds out the truth about Marie’s property, she is completely shocked. Click ‘Next’ to find out why.

Living On A Plantation

Iyanla really has heard it all. She has met with all kinds of people throughout her career and it seems like nothing can really shock the life coach. However, when she arrived at the eye-popping estate that Marie has purchased for her family, she immediately felt something was off. The energy was sitting right and when she found out why, she was speechless.

Iyanla felt uncomfortable and the reason was that she realized Marie’s new property was actually a plantation. She felt like it was crucial to call Holme’s attention in regards to her property’s history. She said: ‘I believe that every location has an energy…So, it was important for me to help Marie recognize and understand that as a black woman living on a plantation, there was an energy that she was dealing with, sitting in, living through—in addition to what was going on in her own personal life.’

Marie’s childhood affected her decision making. How? Click ‘Next’ to learn more.

A Slap In The Face

Marie’s series of reckless decisions weren’t just due to her winning. They were also due to the very complicated relationship she had with her mother growing up. Marie admitted that her mom, Fontella, slapped her in the face when she was growing up and till this day the emotional and physical pain still echoes. Marie has kept her emotions to herself for years, but it took a toll on the relationship she had with her mom.

In one of the interviews on the show, Marie was very candid about her past when she said that she never really understood why she was the only one of the children to get slapped in the face. This made her doubt her own mother’s intentions. She didn’t feel like she deserved to be treated that way. Iyanla took the time to explain Fontella why slapping another person in the face is simply degrading and humiliating. Fontella then expressed how sorry she was for everything.

Could the lottery have lasting effects? Click ‘Next’ to see what Iyanla thinks.

Maybe She’s Depressed

When Iyanla saw Marie on the show, she realized that something was off with her. Iyanla thought that Marie Holmes seemed very numb to all the circumstances in her life. It was like she had detached herself emotionally and physically because it was all too much to deal with.

Iyanla thought that perhaps Marie is depressed from all the change in her life. Money doesn’t fix everything, and Marie is a prime example that it can sometimes make things even worse. Iyanla said, “So many people believe that if they had a certain amount of money, they’d be able to live a certain way… Marie is a prime example that if you don’t know who you are, if you don’t have a strong sense of identity and well-being, all the money in the world is not going to fix how you see yourself and how you live.”

How did Marie’s mother help her daughter win after all? Click ‘Next’ to read about the unsettling truth.

Were The Numbers Random?

When people fill out a lottery card, they either choose completely random numbers or they choose numbers that are meaningful to them in hopes to win the jackpot. As it turns out, the numbers on Marie’s ticket were chosen very carefully and they were everything but random. So who was responsible for those strong winning numbers?

While on the show, Fontella confessed that she was very selective with the numbers. She said: ‘I kept dreaming about your brother that we lost..His birthday, he was the third child, he’d have been 25 that year. Those were the numbers.’ Needless to say that Marie was shocked and overwhelmed when she found out this spine-chilling truth about the ticket that changed her life around.

Did Marie end up happy? Click ‘Next’ to see what she’s doing now.

Money Doesn’t Solve All Problems

It’s easy to say that Marie Holmes learned a lot from winning the lottery. She isn’t as rich as she was when she won, but chances are she still has a good arsenal in her savings. Considering that the lawsuit had not been settled yet, let’s hope her money isn’t gone if she owes the $10 million to the pastor.

Marie Holmes found out shortly after winning that money was not going to solve all her problems. Her tumultuous relationship with her fiancé, Lamarr, continued, and she struggled with her need to try and please her mother. Money couldn’t fix broken relationships, and it couldn’t fix the emotional problems she was experiencing throughout the whole ordeal. While the money did help assure her children’s future, she realized that you should know how to manage money correctly to keep yourself afloat. Hopefully the young mom learned how to effectively manage her money and continue to provide for her family. As of now, Marie Holmes is trying to stay out of the news for awhile to live her life as a stay at home mom.

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