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‘I feel like I’ve won the lottery again’

Callie rogers was just 16 when she scooped nearly £2million on the lottery in 2003 and looked set for a life of luxury.

But instead of making her happy, the money brought her nothing but misery.

Following her win, Callie blew £250,000 on cocaine, attempted suicide three times and struggled to hold down a relationship. Worst of all, she lost custody of son Kian, seven, and daughter  Debony, four – the children she had with her ex, Nicky Lawson.

But now Callie’s troubles are firmly in the past. She has a new man in her life – fireman Paul Penny, 33 – and, in three weeks’ time, she’ll be given a second chance at motherhood when she gives birth to their identical twin boys.

And, despite being almost broke after squandering her £1.9m, Callie says she couldn’t be more content.

Proudly displaying her bump, Callie, 25, poses naked for Closer and reveals: “It was a total surprise. We didn’t plan a baby, let alone two, but I’m truly the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.

“I’ve finally grown up and said goodbye to my troubled past. I might not have any of my millions left but, for the first time in my life, I really do feel like I’ve won the lottery.”

Callie met Paul on a night out two and half years ago and they finally got together a year ago. 

In their modest three-bed terrace house in Workington, Cumbria, the couple are now putting the finishing touches to the blue and white nursery.

“Last year, I sold my £70,000 home and now we live in a rented house while we save up for a place of our own,” says Callie. “We haven’t bought much for the babies, though we’ve got a new twin buggy.

“I have about £40,000 left from the sale of the house but, after that, all my money is gone. But I’m really not worrying about it. I just don’t desire material things like I used to. Long gone are the days when I’d spend thousands on plastic surgery and £200 every other month on hair extensions.”

Callie was earning £3.60 an hour as a shop assistant when she scooped £1.9million in 2003. Two weeks after her win, she met Nicky, 29. They went on to have two children together, but the pair had a rocky relationship and Callie became hooked on cocaine.

“My relationship with Nicky was so destructive,” she recalls. 

As well as drugs, she spent her winnings on holidays, homes for relatives, designer clothes, fast cars and splashed out £11,500 on two boob jobs. But the money never seemed to make Callie – who has tattoos of Japanese art on her baby bump and legs – happy. She became very depressed and even tried to take her life on three occasions. 

She says: “Suddenly, I didn’t know if people loved me for me. I thought the way to be loved and feel loved was to shower people with gifts. Having money was just slowly destroying me.

“I made bad choices with men and was partying to the point where I was totally out of control. When I look back at that time now, I’m horrified by the choices I made. When I think about the drugs and the suicide attempts, it’s like I’m thinking about another person.”

Heartbreakingly, in 2010, Callie lost custody of her children to Nicky. They now live with him, but Callie sees them regularly.

She says: “I have them two nights a week and, on those days, the four of us cuddle up on the sofa and watch movies together. It’s then I feel at my happiest, as we’re a proper family.

“I’ll leave it up to the kids to decide if they want to live with me when they’re older but, right now, the arrangement works for everyone.”

She adds: “With Paul, I know it’s real love and I feel very blessed to have found him. He’s helped me find the confidence I lacked. Every day he tells me how amazing I am – and that’s with me having barely a penny to my name. He loves me for being me. He also gave me the confidence to go back to college to study beauty.”

Callie says Paul was “utterly delighted” when she told him she was pregnant and adds: “He broke out into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.”

And Paul didn’t flinch when doctors revealed Callie was expecting twins. She says: “I had a sneaking suspicion, as I felt so different from the first two times I was pregnant.

“My bump just seemed to appear so quickly and was so much bigger than when I had the other two. Plus, twins run in mine and Paul’s families. It was so emotional – we were both so happy. Obviously a big part of me is petrified, not only financially, but medically too, as there are risks involved with having twins.”

But, aside from struggling with fatigue, she has loved every minute of her pregnancy.

“It really is like I’m having a baby for the first time,” she says. “When I was pregnant with Kian, I was on my own as Nicky and I weren’t together. And when I was pregnant with Debony, I think I knew Nicky wasn’t the man for me. So, this time it’s like I’m experiencing the joy all mums-to-be should go through. It’s not just my baby, it’s our baby.

“I’ve not even minded that with twins comes double everything – double morning sickness and double the amount of kicks they give you. I’ve also been having strange cravings and eating around six packets of Softmints a day, as well as continually cleaning the house. I love the smell of Cif cleaner!”

Amazingly, 5ft 2 Callie has put on just 3st during her pregnancy, going from 7½st to 10½st.

She says: “I have a small build and was a little underweight before I fell pregnant. I haven’t really put on much weight anywhere else – I’m all bump.But, even if I’d ballooned, I wouldn’t have cared this time.

“With the other two, I’d be frantic if even the slightest sign of a stretch mark appeared. But when I started getting them on my tummy this time, I just embraced them.”

Callie’s 32F breast implants have also increased to a 32G.

She says: “They feel enormous, but it’s all part of expecting. Debony loves to stroke and talk to my belly and, now I’m older, I know there are bigger things to worry about than getting fat and losing my pregnancy weight.

“Instead, I’m just going to enjoy every minute of the process and keep pinching myself to believe how lucky I am.”

By Georgina Dickinson