The woman who shared a £148million lottery jackpot with her husband and is now separating from him found their gardener ‘irresistible’, according to a friend.
Gillian Bayford spotted bodybuilding groundsman Chris Tovey, 40, working at a hotel and hired him as a gardener on the 200-acre, £6million Cambridgeshire estate she had just bought with her husband.
The friend last night claimed that Mrs Bayford, 41, then became ‘obsessed’ with him and his impressive physique.
Gillian Bayford spotted bodybuilding groundsman Chris Tovey, 40, working at a hotel and hired him as a gardener on the 200-acre, £6million Cambridgeshire estate she had just bought with her husband
Chris Tovey (left), who is married, claims he was run over by Mrs Bayford’s husband Adrian (right) on a golf buggy, and is now suing the couple
But their working relationship came to an abrupt end – Mr Tovey, who is married, claims he was run over by Mrs Bayford’s husband on a golf buggy, and is now suing the couple.
Yesterday, Mr Tovey was pictured still on crutches close to his home in Haverhill, Suffolk. Mrs Bayford and her husband Adrian, 43, announced on Wednesday that they are divorcing.
A close friend of Mr Tovey’s wife Teri, 32, last night told the Mail: ‘Chris had been working self-employed around the area and they invited him to come and see their new house, and offered him a job working for them full-time.
‘He seemed to enjoy the job and boasted about how much they were paying him. He said that she wore the trousers in the relationship and whatever she wanted at the house went.
'But as things went on we started to notice how much she would call him at all hours. You would be with him for the evening and she would call him two or three times. It was as if she was obsessed.’
The friend added that rumours about the nature of their relationship started when they were seen getting close at a party hosted by the Toveys early this year.
She said: ‘They did not stop speaking the whole night long and people were noticing. She seemed to be very flirty. At one point he was showing her his watch and she seemed to be stroking his arm.
‘At the end of the evening she was the first to leave and Chris walked her to her car, but he was gone for over an hour.
‘Teri was going mad in the house.
All change: Just over a year since their £148m lottery win Gillian and Adrian Bayford have confirmed their marriage is over
Payout: The Bayfords won £148million in August, one of the biggest lottery jackpots in history
'She wanted to go out and challenge them about what was going on, but she said she was scared to make a scene because she could not afford for Chris to lose his job.
‘Everyone has always denied that they actually had an affair, but they were certainly close.’
Mr Tovey stopped working for the Bayfords earlier this year after he was seriously injured when a golf buggy being driven by Mr Bayford was involved in a collision.
A relative of Mr Tovey’s said: ‘Adrian Bayford was driving the golf buggy around the grounds of his estate and Chris was sitting in the back. Adrian clipped a tree and the whole buggy tipped over.
‘Chris was trapped by it. It crushed his lower leg. He was rushed to hospital. The doctors were very worried because the blood had stopped circulating around his muscle. He might have lost it.
‘He has two massive scars, one down either side of his leg.
'The Bayfords paid him for a few months but then he was called in to see them.
New life: Mrs Bayford is said to be living in the couple's £6million Georgian mansion, which has more than 100 acres of land
Down the road: Mr Bayford is now living in this £500,000 house around 10 minutes away from his wife in Suffolk
‘He has been treated really badly. He worked his heart out for them. He regularly worked over his hours up at the house without complaint.’
When Mr and Mrs Bayford, who have a daughter aged eight and a six-year-old son, announced their split, Mrs Bayford said that their marriage has ‘broken down irretrievably’.
Mr Bayford told the Mail: ‘Gillian and I have split. When you win the lottery it’s so stressful.
‘Things happen. Sometimes in life you have to move on. We’re all happy now and life goes on.’
He has moved out of the mansion bought with the EuroMillions jackpot and into a £500,000, four-bedroom home in Haverhill, where the couple lived before the win.
The couple’s win in August last year put them 516th on Britain’s Rich List.
Mr and Mrs Bayford have strenuously denied rumours of an affair.
Mr and Mrs Bayford have strenuously denied rumours of an affair.
Mr Tovey last night declined to comment, but his wife said: ‘He was nothing to do with their marriage.’
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