‘The Price Is Right’ Nurse Speaks Out After Winning a Car

Brittany Sims March 24, 2026, 4:51 pm

'The Price Is Right' contestant Amy McDonough winning a car on February 1, 2026 — The Price Is Right/YouTube

A The Price Is Right contestant won a car on the game show, but she hadn’t even planned to be there. The labor and delivery nurse spoke out after visiting her son, Ryan, in California, and unexpectedly walked away with the huge prize.

Amy McDonough, from New Hampshire, won a 2025 Mazda Mazda3 S after correctly spelling out “CAR” in Spelling Bee on February 11. She also took home a five-piece polar drum set with a throne, cymbal, and two sticks during the second item up for bid after bidding $1.

“I was just listening to the bids, and they all seemed high even though I don’t know much about drums, so I bid a dollar, which is the strategic way of not going over,” McDonough told The New Hampshire Union Leader on March 23.

Now, the game show contestant, who has worked at Catholic Medical Center for 21 years, is speaking out about her time on the show and how she got to spend it with her son. They decided it would be fun to audition for the show while she was out in California.

“It’s kind of nerve-racking, as you might imagine. Everybody is screaming, everybody is yelling stuff to you,” she said.

She chalks up getting to play to what she told the producer, that she came in from New Hampshire the night before, and is a labor and delivery nurse. “My son and I were really hopeful that one of us would get tagged, but you don’t know,” McDonough told the outlet. Ryan lives with his family, including two kids, in Los Angeles.

The contestant wore a shirt that said “NH labor and delivery nurse,” while Ryan wore one that said, “Her greatest delivery!”

After grasping onto host Drew Carey‘s arm and telling him she was “going to die,” it was revealed that she won the car. “It’s kind of nerve-racking, as you might imagine. Everybody is screaming, everybody is yelling stuff to you,” McDonough said.

It was a dream come true for McDonough as she has been a long-time fan of TPIR. “I was always interested in doing it, watching it as a child,” she told the outlet.

'The Price Is Right' Contestant Loses Big After Listening to Audience

She told her coworkers to watch the episode, and they sent her back a photo of five of them huddled around a phone, watching it. “They told me they were all screaming and laughing and having a great time with it,” McDonough said.

Even though the contestant won a car, the game show doesn’t ship the vehicles if a contestant lives outside of California. So, she took the check for it and is using the money to go on a trip.

“I didn’t need a car,” McDonough admitted. However, she is still waiting on the drum set, which is set to arrive in May. The contestant will give it to grandchildren who live locally.

“My goal was just to enjoy the day and come what may, and we just got really, really lucky, and it was really, really, fun,” she ended. “I had a great day with my son, and the outcome of the show speaks for itself.”