'Wheel of Fortune' fans let down as contestant loses $100k and car because of another tough puzzle
Dec. 8 2025, Updated 9:47 p.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" contestant Martia Brown had luck on her side when she reached the Bonus Round with $15,798. With $100k at stake and a brand new ride to win, she spun the wheel once again. The Bonus Round has always been a major hurdle for contestants, and Brown had to rely on quick thinking with big prizes at stake.
she had a rough start as she lost the "Million Dollar Wedge" in Round 1. However, she soon made a comeback by winning the Mystery Round and solving "Eaten a whole carton of ice cream," which earned her $3,350. Her earnings continued to grow, and she bagged a luxurious trip to Austria and Germany worth $7,980 after solving "Seeing all the best sights" during the Prize Puzzle Round. This brought her total to $15,798, and she entered the Bonus Round.
The host, Ryan Seacrest, then said, "Alright, good luck to you. Give the wheel a big spin. All right. And let's see where we can go. We got $100,000 there. There's a vehicle on the stage. It could be yours too." Brown chose the "What Are You Doing?" category and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. She picked C, D, M, and A from her to try and complete the clue for the puzzle.
However, it seemed tough since the board displayed "_,_,_, E, R _, A, L._._.N_." Brown looked totally confused when the ten-second buzzer went off, "Over talking Um, no Uh" she mumbled as time ran out. Brown failed to guess the right answer, which was revealed as "Power Walking". "Probably wanted more of a head start to get that Power walking Over talking, I do that a lot," Seacrest joked as he opened the envelope. "Oh, there you go. $15,798," he said, reacting to Brown's $45,000 Bonus Round loss. Brown walked away with a luxury vacation and $15,798 cash. However, it was a disappointing end since she lost the brand-new car and $100k.
Fans lamented that it was a tough puzzle to crack, "Another tough puzzle to kick off the night. There's always tomorrow," @myles-spikewebby8519 mentioned. "Will The Bonus Round Winner Tomorrow Night Edition on Wheel of Fortune!" @keithkeith9867 pointed out. "I don't understand some of these contestants. When the category is "What Are You Doing", you should automatically choose a "G" and an "I" because you KNOW the verb will end in "ING". Also, they almost always choose "C, D, M, and A". For goodness sake, switch it up more often. Maybe we'd get more bonus round winners that way," @DarrylVick-o7h commented.
You can watch the disappointing loss here.
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