'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses $40,000 as her choice of letters fails to crack a tough puzzle

Fans were not happy about the puzzle that they felt was unkind.

UPDATED FEB 12, 2026

Vanna White and contestant McKenzie on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" contestants often do well until a small mistake costs them the big prize in the Bonus Round. One such contestant, McKenzie, failed to secure the win after choosing the wrong letters. Although the phrase was difficult, fans were dismayed about the choices that deprived her of a $40,000 prize. With this, fans had to witness disappointing moments once again, and made it clear in the comments.

Ryan Seacrest and contestant McKenzie on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

The contestant started by winning the second toss-up prize worth $2,000 in "food for thought," by guessing "Sweet as Honey" as the right answer. The episode then highlighted the NASCAR Experience Prize to Chicagoland Speedway, including a trip to the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, valued at $9,450. During the Main Rounds and Puzzles Round 1, called Before and After, McKenzie guessed "Harrison Ford Bronco" to win $11,950 and the NASCAR experience wedge.

Contestant McKenzie's husband on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

However, she couldn't guess the Triple Toss-Up puzzles and moved to the final spin, which led to the "phrase" category, where McKenzie guessed "It Pays the Bills", taking her total to $19,450 and helping her advance to the bonus round. She then introduced her husband, Kyle, and moved on to choose the "phrase" category. After receiving the standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, and E," she chose "J, C, H, and A." The puzzle board then displayed, "W, H, A, T, A, K, _, N, _, _, _, _, E, R." Despite getting some letters, she wasn't able to solve the puzzle "What a Kind Offer." Fans were left disappointed, and many of them criticized McKenzie for choosing the wrong letters.

"The answer to today's Bonus round. WHAT A KIND OFFER The puzzle was unkind. The challenger made a rare attempt to include a "J" in the letter combo, but it backfired," u/sy1971ofJapan pointed out on 'Wheel of Fortune' Reddit forum. "'A, J' in that situation made no sense. J is in most cases going to be the first letter, and nothing there looked like a J word," u/justmahl added. "McKenzie probably thought the first word was JUST, though it didn't have an S in it," u/NewBuzzyBee chimed in.