‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans React After Cancer Survivor Blows Chance of Big Win (VIDEO)
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Wheel of Fortune fans were heartbroken on Wednesday (December 13) night after an inspiring contestant made it all the way to the Bonus Round only to falter at the last second, losing out on a big cash prize.
The contestant in question was Nicole Bodie, a married mother-of-one from Tomball, Texas. As with all the players on this week’s Secret Santa Disney-themed episodes, Bodie is a self-confessed Disney obsessive who told host Pat Sajak she took a Disney cruise last Christmas.
However, Bodie had a much more emotional connection to Disney, which she shared at the top of the episode. “Mickey was involved in your treatments, want to touch on that?” Sajak asked the Texas native during the introductions.
“So I’m a two-time cancer survivor,” Bodie explained. “During my chemo treatments, I wore mouse ears to start conversations and bring joy to people going through a hard time.”
Wheel of Fortune/YouTube
Viewers immediately took to Bodie and rooted her on as she went up against Matt Powers, a teaching pastor from Birmingham, Alabama, and Ty’Lisha Summers, a chemical engineer and recently published author from Humble, Texas.
Things started a little rough for Bodie, as she ended the first round on a zero, while Powers got out to a significant lead with $10,406. However, Bodie fought back in the Express Round, taking the lead with $12,017, a lead she managed to hold onto throughout the episode, ultimately ending on a winning total of $26,017.
This saw Bodie advance to the Bonus Round, where she selected the “Phrase” category, along with the additional letters “HGCO” to go with the already provided “RSTLNE.”
It looked like Bodie picked the perfect letters, as the puzzle board read, “_ _ ONG OTHER TH_NGS,” putting her just three letters away from figuring out the correct answer.
Unfortunately, Bodie panicked under the pressure and made an incorrect guess of “Wrong Other Things.” The correct answer was “Among Other Things.”
Things only got worse from there as Sajak opened the prize envelope and revealed Bodie lost out on a huge $40,000 bonus.
“Nicole was pulling for you to win, BR. Sorry you missed 40k!!!! Your an incredible lady among MANY other things and remember… Whatever you do, hold on to hope,” wrote one fan on the Wheel YouTube comments.
“That bonus round was a complete layup pre called letters. She was very sweet, though,” said another commenter.
“Pat Sajak said that words beginning with vowels sometimes throw people off, and this is 1 of those times,” added another.
“Damn how could she not get it, I didnt but im bad at these things. She made it to bonus round and had so many letters,” said one fan.
“This lady picked the perfect letters and still couldn’t solve the final puzzle on Wheel of Fortune,” another viewer added on X.
Still, Bodie walked away with $26,017 and met Pluto, who joined her on stage for the Bonus Round, so it wasn’t all bad.
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