The alleged drug dealer boyfriend of a $188m Powerball lottery winner has defended her decision to use $21m of her money to bail him out of jail.

In his first ever interview Lamarr McDow told Daily Mail Online that Marie Holmes wanted to 'stand by her man' and says she has no regrets about using her winnings to help him out.

'We are a couple, and I am the father of her youngest child. This is what people do for each other. She has the money and she can do what she wants with it.

'If I had that money then I would do the same for her. People are just jealous because of how much she won and people want to see me locked in jail.'

Single mum of four Marie Holmes saw her life transformed last February when she hit the Powerball jackpot.

Stand by me: Lamarr 'Hot Sauce' McDow has been bailed out three times - with the total his girlfriend is now standing bond for at $21 MILLION. He tells Daily Mail Online: 'People are just jealous because of how much she won and people want to see me locked in jail.'

Winner: Single mum of four Marie Holmes saw her life transformed last February when she hit the Powerball jackpot. And the biggest single use of her fortune has been bailing her boyfriend out of prison

#Bling when you're winning: Since her win, Marie Holmes has bought her boyfriend a $15,000 gold and diamond Rolex and a heavy gold bracelet - not to mention freedom from prison three times over

She received a third of the $564.1 jackpot – the fifth largest in Powerball history - after buying a ticket at her local gas station in Shallotte, North Carolina.

McDow, who is father to her youngest child, one-year-old Ebony, was already in jail having been arrested in November 2014 on heroin trafficking charges.

He read about her win in the newspaper but weeks later after receiving a lump sum of $88m after taxes the Holmes used the money to secure the freedom of her boyfriend.

She used $3m to bail him out of jail and he moved in with her at a $350,000 newly built home she had bought on a gated estate in Shallotte.

Months later in August 2015 she posted a further $6m bail after McDow,whose nickname is 'hot sauce', was arrested at her home for breaking the conditions of a pre-trial release program from his drugs arrest.

And on New Year's Day Holmes stumped up a further $12m when the 31 year old was arrested on charges of being involved in an illegal street race.

Holmes stands to lose $21m - a quarter of her winnings - if Holmes fails to turn up for his trial.

In an exclusive interview McDow revealed that despite her new found wealth Holmes had found the massive win to be a burden.

She has been deluged with begging letters and told him: 'When money comes, there are more problems.'

Heavily tattooed McDow has benefited from Holmes's generosity thanks to her eight-figure bank account.

She has set him up in an auto repair business and bought him a $15,000 diamond encrusted gold Rolex watch.

He also wears a chunky gold and diamond bracelet and drives a new pick up truck.

Freedom March: Holmes posted a $3million bond to bail Jamall McDow out in March after he had been in jail since 2014 on heroin-related charges

July: Arrested and fitted with a GPS tracker. She posted $6 million bail the following month to guarantee his freedom

December: An arrest again - this time over allegedly conspiring to arrange an illegal street race. On New Year's Day Holmes stumped up a further $12m for him to be freed

His sparkling possessions are a far cry from when he was arrested in 2014 and he filled out a court report where he listed his income as zero and assets of just $120.

McDow said prior to Holmes's lottery win he had helped to support her while she was living in a modular home with her four children, Bravden, Charisma, Andrea and Ebony and her mother.

He said people had accused him of only being with Holmes because she was rich - a statement he denies.

'We were together for two years before she won the Powerball,' he said.

'Her youngest child is my daughter. I have known her for a long time and people round where she lived will tell you that I am a good man who has helped out others.

'So many people are going on that she has paid $21m to get me out of jail, but that ain't true. It is just 10 per cent.

'People do make mistakes, but she should be allowed to do what she wants.'

After Holmes bailed out McDow on New Year's Day the internet lit up with negative comments with many women urging her to dump him.

Commentators said they were 'disappointed' she had chosen to stay with an alleged drug dealer.

'People can say what they like and it don't hurt us,' said McDow. 'She is standing by her man.'

After the Powerball win last February Holmes used a fraction of her money to buy a new five bedroom home for $294,000 on a new estate in Shallotte.

McDow said Holmes was now moving out following his latest arrest and claimed they had been harassed by the neighbors.

'We were the only black family on the estate and they did not like it,' he said.

'One neighbor set up a camera to record everything we were doing. If I was driving down the road and going at the speed limit they would wave at me for going too fast. They did not want us there. They were prejudiced.'

Neighbors on the estate were reluctant to talk about the family when contacted by Daily Mail Online.

But one woman said: 'If they are gone and never come back many people will be happy.

'There were always so many people coming and going.'

Investment: Lamarr McDow operates this auto repair shop in Shallotte, NC, which his girlfriend set him up in. He says that his latest arrest stems from being called out from it

Departed: Marie Holmes and McDow shared this home but the couple have now left it empty, claiming they were the victims of racism on the estate 'They did not want us there. They were prejudiced,' he says

What used to be: The trailer where McDow and Holmes were living when she struck it big with a third share of a record Powerball payout

McDow was at the house when police arrived with an arrest warrant last July after he was found to have broken a pre-trial agreement.

From his prior drug charge arrest he was fitted with a GPS ankle monitor which showed that he was out after a curfew time of 7pm.

While police were at the property two officers smelt marijuana and obtained a search warrant.

A copy of the warrant obtained by Daily Mail Online showed that police also believed the house was being used to store the proceeds of drugs deals.

The warrant said: ' Affiant believes that it is more than likely that there are other narcotics as well as proceeds from a narcotics business at the residence. This affiant believes the information sworn to above, details an ongoing narcotics business.'

Holmes was arrested along with three other men on possession of marijuana charges.

When police searched the main bedroom they found a gun leading to McDow, a convicted felon, facing another charge.

The drug charge against Holmes were later dropped and she agreed to fund the $6m bail to make sure McDow spent limited time behind bars.

McDow had initially been arrested after a year long investigation into a heroin trafficking ring in Brunswick County.

Court papers obtained by Daily Mail Online reveal that police placed GPS trackers on his car and tapped his phone as part of the investigation.

In November 2014 police seized 1,600 bags of heroin and arrested McDow with two other men.

He was charged with conspiracy to traffic heroin and as the amount is over 28g in North Carolinas carries a minimum sentence of 225 months.

And the winner is: Holmes announced she would donate parts of her $188 million winnings to her church and help her children through education. She didn't mention that she would spend some of it bailing her partner out

Family: McDow is father to Holmes' youngest child. She has three older children

Brunswick County Sheriff's Office said at the time of his arrest he was a gang member who had been involved in large-scale drugs activity.

A spokesman said the arrest came after a year long investigation based on community complaints and tips

McDow said he wants his day in court.

'They are saying I am a drug dealer, and that is not true,' he said.

McDow insisted he was the victim of racism and jealously due to his girlfriend's wealth.

'I'm on these charges because of the color of my skin. This is s very dangerous place for a black man. There is no one else who has had their bail set so high. It is not right. They have only out that on because they know my girlfriend has the money.

'They did not want to let me out of jail but when she won the lottery they had to and they didn't like that.'

McDow claims the bail money has increased from $3m to $12m because Holmes has the financial capacity to pay they money thanks to her jackpot win.

But under North Carolina law the bail amount doubles each time it has to be renewed.

A court document obtained from McDow's file at Brunswick County Court showed that he was aware his bail amount would be $12m the next time her was in breach of the conditions set from his original hearing

He signed the single page document which read:' The defendant acknowledges and agrees that violation of the rule of the GPS Pretrial Release program will result in immediate re-incarceration and the defendant will be held under the second bond of $12m with GPS'

McDow signed the agreement on August 17th last year.

While Holmes has not physically handed over $21m she would lose that amount if her boyfriend fails to show up for his trial.

But she has lost almost $1.5m in bail bondsmen fees in keeping her boyfriend out of jail.

The non refundable fee paid to bail bondsmen is at leaat seven per cent, which for Holmes is about $1,470,000.

McDow broke the agreement on December 26th when he was arrested for allegedly organizing an illegal street race.

He maintains that he is innocent and that he was only in the area as he was working.

The auto repair business he runs operates a tow truck and McDow claims he has been called out in the early hours of the morning.

The pretrial program allows him to leave the house from 7am to 7.30pm for work purposes.

McDow insisted he was wrongly arrested after another man indentified him as being part of a group that organised the street race.

Marijuana smell: Deputies went to arrest McDow for breaching his arrest conditions and found 'a strong odor' of the drug. In a sworn statement, one agent said another man told him: 'Y'all smell weed cause we smoked it.'

Conditions: The strict rules which Mc Dow was under when he allegedly breached his bail conditions

Penniless: How McDow described himself - saying that his only property was the clothes he was wearing, which he valued at $120. However his girlfriend's $188 million fortune was what got him bail

Too many figures: The

'I was just doing my work, and that his allowed,' he said during an interview at his auto-body shop less than a mile from the former modular home where Holmes and her children lived.

He said Holmes had invested in the business and he now employed 11 people.

Her black Mercedes S class car was parked outside the premises along with McDow's pick up truck.

McDow said he has one rule for employees – no drugs and no guns.

' There's not a lot of job opportunities round here so I'm trying to do something good,' he said.

'I want to give kids a chance to stay off the streets so they can make the most of the situation:

Since the latest arrest Holmes has not been seen at her new home – and McDow said she was unlikely to ever return.

She was visiting friends out of state and had yet to return to the Shallot residence.

While investing in her boyfriend Holmes also kept true to her word to give some of her winnings to her church.

After announcing she had won the Powerball, Holmes said in TV interviews she would give or tithe a 10th of her winnings to the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Shallotte where she and her family were part of the congregation.

Last year she formed the Marie Holmes Foundation with an initial investment of $9.7m and in November wrote out a personal check for $680,000 to her church.

Church leader Reverend Dr Vaughan Cherry said at the time: ' This is such a blessing for us.'

The money will be used to carry out badly needed repairs.

Holmes placed a restriction on the gift saying that $150,000 be used to help out struggling single mothers, elderly and others in financial trouble.

Family members said the church had helped Holmes when she was struggling to bring up her family while working two jobs to support.

It was Holmes's determination to look after her family that had touched the hearts of so many people when she won the Powerball.

Holmes had worked at Wal-Mart and as a server at her local McDonalds to support her family.

All her four children are aged under 10, including one who has cerebral palsy.

Holmes had a rough upbringing and saw her father Elroy jailed for drug offences. He is currently serving a five year sentence.

Family members told Daily Mail Online she always put her children first and looked after her family.

Her cousin Don Bryant said she paid for him and six other family members to travel to Las Vegas to celebrate her birthday.

The group stayed at the Planet Hollywood hotel in the all-expenses-paid trip.

'Marie has done right by her family,' said Don, who was left crippled after being shot.

'She has made good on her promise to help others and is using the money for good.

'She hasn't changed, other than moving to a new house. '

McDow also said Holmes has not let the $88m change her but said having so much money has brought other complications.