'Wheel of Fortune' fans call out 'borderline impossible' bonus round puzzle as player loses $40,000
'I had no idea it existed,' one viewer said after contestant Auriel Heath failed to guess the rare dish.
Aug. 17 2025, Published 8:45 a.m. ET
Fans of "Wheel of Fortune" have long been complaining about the unusually tough puzzles from season 42 of the show. However, there was one puzzle that left the viewers and the contestant utterly confused. The player, Auriel Heath, who made it to the Bonus Round, was forced to guess a food item that most people have barely heard of. The puzzle "Pumpkin Ravioli" didn't just cost Heath $40,000, but left viewers bewildered as well.
In the episode, Heath, a self-proclaimed karaoke queen from Rochester, New York, went up against Marcus Ogawa from Boise, Idaho, and Linda Guerrero from La Habra, California. She got off to a rough start as Guerrero took off to a runaway lead early in the game. Going into the Mystery Round, she bagged herself big money and an $8,799 trip. However, Heath mounted a strong comeback in the Express Round, where she solved the prize puzzle to win an exotic trip to Scandinavia worth $9,199, per Andy Nguyen's recap. She kept the momentum up going into the Speed Up Round, and solved a few more puzzles to emerge as the big winner of the night with a total of $22,299, the trip, and a Wild Card.
Going into the Bonus Round, she chose the popular category, "Food & Drink" for the final puzzle. Alongside the host, Ryan Seacrest at the wheel, Heath was joined by her sister, Nica, on stage for support. After picking out her prize envelope, she was faced with a short two-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, she went on to choose "C, D, M, A," and the extra letter "F" using her Wild Card. With this, her final puzzle read, "_ _ M _ _ _ N R A _ _ _ L _."
Before Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, he gave Heath the usual advice to "talk it out." Heath took that advice and went on to yell out a flurry of guesses, including "Ham and ravioli, canned ravioli, ham ravioli, zoom ravioli, prepare ravioli, barbecue ravioli," and more, but none of them were correct. "You're running the most amazing ravioli restaurant. It all sounds so good," Seacrest said before revealing the answer, "Pumpkin Ravioli." To add to the heartbreak, the host revealed that Heath lost out on winning an additional $40,000.
"I've never had any of that ravioli," Seacrest too admitted as Heath took the loss in good spirit, saying, "It's okay." While she let it slide, the fans of the show didn't. On the show's YouTube clip, viewers blasted the puzzle.
"I haven't ever eaten pumpkin ravioli. I had no idea it existed!" @LeotheTiger1234. "Another borderline impossible puzzle without the right letter calls," suggested @Matthew6418.
"That was hard. I’ve never heard of pumpkin ravioli in my life, so even if I got the k, I’d be clueless," explained @lunamelody2025. "At least she had the second word. I was completely lost! What a beautiful woman; so happy for her winnings!" added @loveforeignaccents.
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