What would you say if 'Prince Harry' offered to cover your rent for a whole year?
Okay, it’s pretty unlikely. But it did happen to 24-year-old Manhattanite Emma Sandler, our first ever LiveRentFree winner – who was presented with a giant check for $12,924 (her year’s rent) in truly spectacular style.
Let’s rewind. Back in May we invited users to share what they’d do with the extra cash if somebody paid their rent for a whole year. 16,000 entries later we randomly selected our winner (Emma). Then we had to plan how to tell her.
With insider info from her close friend Sarah Kramer and sister Charlotte, we found out about Emma’s love for the British Royal family and used this as the inspiration for her epic prize reveal. We then found ourselves a Prince Harry lookalike, gave him an entourage of ‘security’, paparazzi, a press team and the giant prize check, and booked Emma and her friend into Club A Steakhouse for a fancy dinner.
And then the drama unfolded. As Emma and Sarah chatted, ‘Prince Harry’ was rushed in in a flurry of security and commotion, with Sarah soon asking him to pose for a photo with a very embarrassed Emma, and ‘Harry’ revealing all. Watch the video to see how the hilarious surprise played out:
Once Emma had calmed down (and realised it wasn’t a trick!) she said: “I realize it was a lottery system in which I won, but I feel very humbled by this and it does have the capacity to change my life. I’m continuously bewildered at the fact that I won.”
Emma still plans to save and invest the money as a priority, but has admitted she’ll probably treat herself to “a little something nice” too. And well deserved it is. A photo of her big win is also going on her Tinder profile, apparently...
Want a piece of the action? We host monthly LiveRentFree competitions that could help turn your life around too, giving you the chance to win a month of your rent on us.