'Wheel Of Fortune' contestant loses a car because of one word, then lets out a loud groan

She had already won more than $21,000 and a trip to Portugal before heading to the round.

PUBLISHED SEP 14, 2025

Screenshot showing the contestant trying to solve a puzzle on "Wheel of Fortune." (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Winning and losing are parts of the game on "Wheel of Fortune," but some losses hit harder than others. That happens when the answer to a puzzle seems simple, but a contestant fails to get it right, and it is revealed that they could have won one of the best prizes the show can offer. That is exactly what happened in an earlier episode, in which a contestant let out a loud groan after losing a car.

via GIPHY

The contestant called Wanda played exceptionally well to win more than $21,300 and a trip to Portugal, according to a report in TV Insider. Her fine performance earned her a place in the Bonus Round. Wanda had chosen the 'Thing' category. In keeping with the rules of the game, she was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. Only this time, these letters did little to nothing to open up the puzzle.

It consisted of five words, and all the letters revealed were a couple of Ts. Now, the contestant had the chance to pick three more consonants and one more vowel. Wanda was familiar with this but took her time in choosing the letters. She eventually landed on H, C, D, and A. These were fine picks as they opened a lot of the puzzle up, which now read, “A _ATCH _ _ TH_C_ _ _ _.”

Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest, the contestant, and her friends. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune) — Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest, the contestant, and her friends. (Image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Wanda did a fantastic job of guessing most of the puzzle right, but faltered at the last word. “A patch of thick, a match of thick, a watch of thick,” she guessed, but just never got close to guessing the final word. In the end, her 10 seconds flew by, and the answer was revealed. “You were on to something there,” host Ryan Seacrest said as the answer was "a patch of thick fog."

This was not an easy puzzle to get right, but what compounded the contestant’s disappointment was the fact that she could have won a brand-new Mercedes-Benz had she gotten it right. Wanda let out a loud groan and threw her hands in the air in despair as that was revealed. Thankfully, Seacrest was quick to remind her that she had won well over $21,000 in the game, and that seemed to have a positive impact on her mood.

Screenshot showing the contestant's reaction after losing the car. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

This loss came during last season’s infamous run of Bonus Round losers, and Wanda was the 15th straight contestant to suffer that fate. As a result, fans were fuming in the comments section on YouTube. “15 losses. Tonight marked 15... losses... and it had to be a FREAKING CAR?!” one fan wrote. “Somebody end this drought, please!” added another. “I thought the streak was going to end tonight,” commented one more fan.