A Wheel of Fortune contestant lost out on taking home a car in the Bonus Round. But the mom-of-two wouldn’t even have been on the show if her daughter hadn’t tricked her in the first place.
Jennifer Jaehnig, from Wilton, Connecticut, played against Joy Gompah, from Buffalo, New York, and Steve Hawthorne, from Mahwah, New Jersey, on Wednesday, December 10. Jaehnig revealed that her daughter tricked her into thinking she was filming a school project, but was really asking her questions for a Wheel of Fortune audition tape.
“What was your reaction then?” host Ryan Seacrest asked.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe you did this. I’ve loved Wheel for forever, but I never expected anything to come of it,” she said. “And here we are, she got me.”
“It’s a prank gone well for the first time ever,” Seacrest replied.
Jaehnig solved the first Toss Up, and Hawthorne, a man who has grown to love soccer through his wife, solved the second. Hawthorne obtained a Wild Card during the first puzzle, but lost it when he landed on Bankrupt. Jaehnig wound up solving “Jinge Bell Rock Lobster,” got the $1 Million wedge, and put $2,150 in her bank.
Jaehnig solved the next puzzle with a lot of letters still blank — “Getting All Dressed Up And Going Out”— for $3,650.
“You’re good at this game!” Seacrest said.
Gompah, a woman who keeps her Christmas tree up all year, solved most of the prize puzzle, but landed on “Lose a Turn.” Hawthorne then guessed “Gorgeous Coastal Cities” and won a trip to Croatia. This gave him the lead with $11,500.
Jaehnig put $4,000 in her bank when she solved two of the three Triple Toss-Ups. Gompah solved the other.
All three game show contestants got caught up on the second word in the last puzzle, which was “Cranberry Punch.” Jaehnig solved it and put $8,000 in her bank, giving her a total of $15,650.
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Gompah went home with $2,000. Hawthorne took home $11,500.
“We have your daughter, Scarlett, to thank for this, Jennifer,” Seacrest said.
“We do. Wouldn’t be here without her,” the contestant replied.
Jaehnig brought Scarlett and her other daughter, Alice, as well as her husband, Dave, with her to the Bonus Round. Seacrest asked Scarlett to think about what else she could trick her mom with.
The contestant chose “Food & Drink” for her category. After Wheel of Fortune supplied her with “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” Jaehnig chose “C,M,D, and O.”
The puzzle then looked like “C_ _C_EN _ _M_O.” As the clock counted down, Jaehnig knew the first word was “Chicken” but couldn’t guess the second one.
It turned out to be “Chicken Gumbo.” A GMC car was in the envelope.
Wheel of Fortune, Weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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