'Wheel of Fortune' fans call out producers over tough puzzle that cost contestant a Ford Bronco
The player, Ryan Halsey, took the game by storm in the initial rounds but was stumped in the finale.
Aug. 8 2025, Published 2:45 p.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" fans have had a frustrating few months with a losing streak in bonus rounds that they blamed on impossible puzzles. They had the same complaint in another episode when a contestant lost a car. Fans were unhappy after a contestant suffered a tough Bonus Round loss that cost him a brand new Ford Bronco. The player, Ryan Halsey, performed surprisingly well during the initial rounds of the game. However, the impressive player was stumped by a simple four-word puzzle in the end, which left the fans hurting.
Halsey started off with a flyer by solving the first puzzle to win $1,000 and take an early lead. Although Elliot, a social worker for developmentally disabled adults, gave Halsey a tough time during the following rounds. Nevertheless, Halsey put his great puzzle-solving skills to use and solved multiple puzzles effortlessly.
He quickly racked up $12,400 in cash and won an exotic trip to Costa Rica in the Express Round, according to TV Insider. In the end, Halsey emerged victorious with a total of $39,450 in cash and the trip. Advancing to the Bonus Round of the show, he chose the category “Phrase” for his final puzzle.
He then accompanied the host, Ryan Seacrest, at the wheel and was joined by his parents, Tim and Jerry, on the stage. With a chance of winning up to $100,000 more or a brand new car, Halsey picked out his Golden Envelope and was faced with a long four-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," filled in, he chose “G, F, H, and O” as his additional letters. With everything on the board, the puzzle read, “_ _O_L_ _E _EL_GHTE_.”
It was clear that Halsey needed a few more letters on the board to make things easier. Despite lacking clues, he tried to solve the puzzle as soon as Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer. "I....I....I am delighted," he muttered, but he couldn't get the answer in time. “You were on to it,” Seacrest said before revealing the answer, “I would be delighted.” To add to the heartbreak, Seacrest went on to flip the prize envelope to show that Halsey had lost out on driving home a new Ford Bronco.
While Halsey had a muted reaction to the loss, fans, on the other hand, were quite expressive. "That was a bad choice. I would’ve needed a couple more letters to solve that," @lunamelody2025 wrote in the comments on YouTube, slamming the puzzle. "OUCH, THAT HURT!" @Elsa20192 wrote, expressing disappointment.
Some couldn't believe that a brilliant player like Halsey missed it. "How TF did he not get that Bonus Round!? He was brilliant all night and then...bam!" @Mike-sv1ye expressed.
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