Inside lotto winners dream bachelor pad - from fake lake to three bars
Former bricklayer Gareth Bull built his luxury dream home by hand after landing a £41million Euromillions jackpot.
The 52-year-old spent four years building the house – which he said helped him survive during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. The dad-of-two hit the headlines in 2012 when he scooped the giant payout with then-wife Catherine. But they split after Gareth met bar owner Donna Desporte in Tenerife while on a lads’ holiday in 2016.
He bought the two-acre site in Nottinghamshire two years later – and set about creating the ultimate bachelor pad for himself. The 6,000sqft house boasts a giant artificial lake filled with hundreds of re-homed goldfish and koi carp. It also features a swimming pool with programmable waves, an in-ceiling sound system, floating fireplaces, three bars and two hot tubs.
Work began on the four bedroomed house in the summer of 2019, but disaster struck early the following year when the pandemic hit. Gareth recalled: “I was living here on my own at the time. I didn’t know what to do, so I threw myself into work on the home. It saved me from getting too lonely. This turned into my ultimate lockdown project.
Gareth next to fish-filled lake (PA)“Lockdown rules allowed building sites to keep going, so eventually some of my builder friends came to help me.” Gareth was so devoted to the project he decided to live in a caravan on site so he keep a lookout for thieves. The house is extra special because I did so much of the work myself, and during the pandemic too,” he added.
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“It helped me through lockdown, I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had this to work on. It was the perfect distraction with a great reward at the end of it.” Gareth’s pride of joy is the fishing lake – the size of two tennis courts – which he originally planned to be a “small pond”.
“I called it Lockdown Lake, made a little sign, and invited anyone who needed to re-home their fish to bring them here,” he said. Now, I have a couple of hundred fish, mainly goldfish and 10 koi carp. I call it my fish orphanage because they’ve all been re-homed.” Gareth also built Lockdown Lodge’ alongside the house, complete with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a fully functioning kitchen.
It is filled with sporting memorabilia, including signed football shirts, cricket pads and boxing gloves. He bought the site with a three-bed bungalow on it, but decided to flatten it to build his dream home. “Once I got the green light to go ahead, I started digging and just didn’t stop,” he recalled.
Gareth with then-wife Catherine (PA)“The original bungalow sat on open land, so I knocked down half and lived in the remaining rooms so I could be on site and guard our tools. When the rest of the bungalow had to be knocked down, I moved into a caravan on the building site – much to the amusement of my friends.”
Gareth, who has two adult sons, helped dig out foundations and complete brickwork as the house began taking shape. It now boasts a remote-controlled system which allows him to open curtains, turn on lights and choose music on his phone. “There’s an 8ft projector screen which pulls down from the ceiling so I can watch sport with my friends,” he added.
“I installed two hot tubs – one by the house and a second log-burning hot tub from Scandinavia outside the lodge.” The fanatical Manchester United fan moved into the house on Christmas Eve 2020 and recently finished the epic project. Gareth will be hoping for a quiet life in the new property – in contrast to his volatile love life since winning the Euromillions jackpot.
He separated from wife Catherine in 2018 following a string of revelations about his relationship with Donna. Gareth reportedly whisked the bar owner off her feet after chatting her up using the line “ Google me”. Donna, originally from Bournemouth, claimed he told her he and Catherine were on a trial separation at the time.
Gareth with Donna Desporte (Collect Unknown)
Gareth at the bar in his home (PA)In 2017 she spoke to the Sunday Mirror all about their whirlwind nine-month romance. She revealed how he splashed out on expensive trips and VIP events, including a night at the prestigious BAFTA awards. Donna said he wanted to keep their relationship a secret to avoid giving his wife more ammunition if they were to split up.
But in December 2017 Catherine spotted the couple on TV – enjoying lavish ringside seats at an Anthony Joshua boxing bout. Donna went on to write a book about her time with the millionaire bricky – and he took out a restraining order against her. He won a High Court battle in September 2021 banning her from bringing court actions against him. The EuroMillions Jackpot on Friday September 29 is £110m.
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