Another week, another incorrect puzzle guess from a Wheel of Fortune contestant that has fans of the show up in arms.
During a recent episode, a competitor named Gwen Hardy made an embarrassing blunder that ignited some harsh criticism on social media.
Gwen, a flight surgeon for the U.S. Navy, took her chances on a puzzle in the “Event” category but came up short with an incorrect answer.
Only three letters remained on the board, making for a seemingly easy puzzle to solve for the win.
The board read “SURPRISE _ARRIA_E PROPOSA_,” and although it seemed evident that the correct answer was “Surprise Marriage Proposal,” Gwen swapped one letter that cost her $8,250.
When it came time for Gwen to deliver her puzzle guess to longtime Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, she came up short with “Surprise Carriage Proposal.”
Pat Sajak tries to console Wheel of Fortune contestant
Gwen quickly realized the flub she’d committed, and Pat offered her some solace with his remarks.
“I know. Sometimes you get excited, and your mouth doesn’t say what your brain intended,” Pat told her, adding, “I’m sorry.”
Gwen’s mistake was even more glaring because earlier in the show, she revealed to Pat that she recently got engaged herself.
While Pat went easy on Gwen, Wheel of Fortune viewers on X, formerly Twitter, weren’t as forgiving.
Gwen’s critics flooded the social media platform with chastisement, calling her out for missing out on the correct answer.
Wheel of Fortune viewers weren’t as forgiving as Pat for Gwen’s puzzle blunder
One Wheel of Fortune fan shared a clip of Gwen’s segment, which they captioned, “Surprise Carriage Proposal On Wheel of Fortune? I’m Sorry, What?”
“It is not….. [SURPRISE] CARRIAGE PROPOSAL,” penned another Wheel of Fortune spectator who added, “Poor #GWEN” along with the hashtag #WeHurtForYou.
One Wheel of Fortune watcher gave Gwen a little slack in their comment, writing that a “surprise carriage proposal is where someone surprises their significant other by proposing during a romantic carriage ride.”
“I don’t know why everyone’s so upset here,” they continued. “It was basically a 50/50 prop.”
Another one of Gwen’s critics wasn’t so forgiving, expressing, “Ok, that might be the worst Wheel miss ever. Surprise Carriage Proposal?”
Wheel of Fortune fans have been vocal about chastising incorrect guesses as of late
Perhaps Wheel of Fortune viewers will eventually let Gwen off the hook. But she isn’t the first contestant on the long-running weeknight game show to make a very public mistake on-air, and she certainly won’t be the last.
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, another recent contestant named Gishma Tabari shocked Wheel of Fortune fans when she incorrectly solved a puzzle with a humorous answer.
When Gishma saw the letters “TH _ / _ RITI _ S / _ GR _ E” on the board in the “Showbiz” category, she buzzed in with her reply: “The British Ogre.”
Gishma’s snafu garnered plenty of social media attention, with many Wheel of Fortune viewers calling her out for her error.
Gishma admitted to Fox News Digital that some of the comments she read about her performance on the show were “hurtful.”
However, Gishma was able to poke fun at her incorrect guess, taking a humorous jab at herself on Instagram.
Gishma uploaded a photo of herself standing in front of the game show wheel next to a computer-generated “British Ogre” she nicknamed Sir Clyde.
“Sometimes when you’re anxious you just need a friend beside you,” Gishma teased in the caption.
“Thank you to my favorite ‘British Ogre’ for calming me down,” she continued. “If only you didn’t appear right before I was about to solve maybe the whole world wouldn’t think I’m crazy.”