'Wheel of Fortune' contestant's daughter sheds tears of joy after $40,000 win — makes fans emotional
Dec. 17 2025, Updated 12:34 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" at times creates powerful moments of triumph and an emotional connection between the audience and the contestant. Fans had been frustrated by bonus round losses, but, a player named Dedric broke the dry spell to collect a $40,000 cash prize. His 10-year-old daughter, Ashton, shed tears of joy after watching her father win. Fans couldn't stop admiring the touching moment between father and daughter filled with innocence.
Dedric dominated the game show from the start. He quickly solved the Second Toss-Up and won $2,000 with the answer "Seen a Ghost." During the Prize Puzzle - Phrase round, he guessed the right puzzle, "The Ultimate in Tranquility," and won a trip to Patagonia worth $16,390. Dedric won the Triple Toss-Up round twice and collected $4,000. Thus, bringing his total to $20,740. He then emerged as the top winner and proceeded to the Bonus Round.
"I have my lovely wife, Janelle, and my ten-year-old daughter, Ashton," Dedric said while introducing his family to host Ryan Seacrest before giving the wheel a big spin. He chose the puzzle category "What are you doing?" Dedric had the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E, and chose G, D, C, and the vowel A. The board then showed " _, _, _, _, N, G, A, G, L, _, T, C, _."
With the new letters, Dedric successfully solved the puzzle and answered, "Fixing a glitch," within 10 seconds. This earned him an additional $40,000, bringing his total to $64,740. "Put a big bow on all this cash. $40,000," Seacrest reacted as Dedric expressed his excitement and happiness on stage with a little dance. "What does it feel like in this moment?" Seacrest asked as Dedric's wife and daughter joined them for the celebration.
"Oh, man, I don't know. I'm still processing, but, man, this has been great," Dedric replied, choking a little. As the camera panned towards an overwhelmed Ashton, she was shedding happy tears for her father. "Wheel of Fortune" fans couldn't hold back as they witnessed the sweet moment. "It was wonderful. The tears of your daughter were lovely," @sy-kd6km commented. "So happy for him!! And his daughter getting emotional was so sweet, too!" @loveforeignaccents chimed in.
"That was a good solve. At the same time I was trying to figure out the puzzle he nearly solved it instantly," @tima.curtis2488 praised. "Same puzzle on Nov 23, 2018, and solved for $36K," @sammylerman7136 pointed out. "We have a big winner Happy Holidays," @annettecarlin4800 celebrated.
You can watch the touching moment here.
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