'Wheel of Fortune' fans call out 'another tough puzzle' as contestant loses $40,000

The player, Cherie Noisette, missed on out taking home more than $61,000 in prizes.

PUBLISHED OCT 17, 2025

Screenshot showing the contestant attempting her Bonus Round Puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" has seen a streak of disappointing losses in the bonus round in the past few months, and although some did manage to break the chain, many still keep crashing out after a good game. Fans have now reached a level of frustration where they aren't even surprised when someone faces a puzzle too tough to solve. A contestant, Cherie Noisette, who racked up over $21,000 before making it to the finale, lost out on taking home an additional $40,000 after being stumped by the puzzle, "Kind Of Awkward." Even the host, Ryan Seacrest, could not help but react to the loss, while fans expressed outrage on social media.

Screenshot showing the moment of loss (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

While Noisette got the first Toss Up puzzle right to take the early lead, her competitor, Hapka, surpassed her after cracking the second one. However, Noisette went on a roll in the following rounds by solving a couple of puzzles on the fly to put over $17,000 in the bank and win a Wild Card. Unfortunately, she lost the Wild Card after hitting a Bankrupt Wedge, but then mounted a comeback in the Triple Toss Up round by solving a couple of puzzles to win more money. In the end, she emerged as the big winner of the night with a total of $21,350, while Hapka took home $15,680.

Screenshot showing Noisette at the wheel alongside Seacrest (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

Advancing to the Bonus Round, she picked the category “Phrase” for her final puzzle and joined Seacrest at the wheel. After picking out her Golden Envelope, she faced a three-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, “R, S, T, L, N, E,” filled in, Noisette chose “D, M, H, and A” as her additional letters. With everything on the board, the puzzle showed up as, “_ _ND _ _ A_ _ _ARD.”

Screenshot showing the Bonus Round puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

When Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed like Noisette was at a loss for the first word. While she guessed, “Something Awkward,” it wasn't enough as the clock ran out on her. Co-host Vanna White then uncovered the answer, "Kind of Awkward." “Well, it’s ‘Kind of Awkward’, Nice try!” Seacrest chuckled before revealing that Noisette lost out on winning an additional $40,000, which would have taken her total to $61,350.

Screenshot showing Seacrest talking to the player (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

While the player shrugged off the loss, saying, “That’s alright!” fans were quick to call out the show's producers on social media. "Another tough puzzle tonight," wrote @nathanieljourat6723 in the comments on YouTube. "This has been going on since Thursday, and it's a kind of awkward situation. The answer to today's puzzle tells the story," added @sy-kd6km.