This ‘Wheel of Fortune’ puzzle stumped most — until a sharp grandma-grandson duo solved it instantly
Two 'Wheel of Fortune' contestants stunned the fans with their quick thinking and incredible puzzle-solving skills. During an episode of 'Wheel of Fortune' that aired on May 23, 2025, Retta Alexander and her grandson, Julian Hernandez from Mississippi, aced the Bonus Round. When host Pat Sajak asked the duo to pick a category for their final puzzle, they chose "Place." With the standard letters “R, S, T, L, N, E” revealed, they chose “D, C, H, A” to complete the puzzle. In the end, Alexander and Hernandez faced the difficult task of solving a 13-letter puzzle with only five letters revealed.
With everything on the board, Alexander and Hernandez's final puzzle read, "_ A N C _ / _ _ _ T _ _ _." According to the Daily Mail, while taking a closer look at the baffling arrangement of the letters, Sajak quipped, "Scared. Oh, boy. Yeah, well, the two of you, you know, feed off each other. It's a place. You have ten seconds. Talk it out. Good luck." As the ten-second timer began, Alexander immediately shouted, “Fancy Boutique.”
Vanna White confirmed Retta had given the correct answer, prompting wild applause from the studio audience. At that point in time, Sajak was also taken aback by how quickly the dynamic duo had figured out the right answer to the puzzle and said, "Yeah, what do they need?" Following their win, Alexander and her grandson Hernandez jumped up and down and hugged each other tightly.
Then Sajak opened the golden envelope and told Alexander and Hernandez they had won an additional $40,000, bringing their total to $56,590. According to Today, while shaking hands with the 'Wheel of Fortune' contestants, Sajak said, "Nice going, guys, congratulations. That was a good solve." Around the same time, a video of the happy moment was also shared on the official Instagram page of 'Wheel of Fortune.' The caption of the post read, "More letters? Pfft, Retta & Julian don’t need them."
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In the blink of an eye, the fans flooded the comments section of the Instagram post with congratulatory messages. One social media user wrote, “One of the sweetest duos I’ve ever seen on Wheel so so happy for them! They were the pair that we were rooting for at home.” Followed by a second user who penned, “That was a great solve. So amazing. I didn’t have a clue.” Another netizen echoed the same sentiments by writing, “I couldn’t believe she got this! Such a sweet grandma and grandson!!” A 'Wheel of Fortune' fan remarked, “Amazing solve by a wonderful grand duo." One user noted, "I always find it hard when a Q is in the Bonus Round puzzle. Great solve!" Another user raved over Alexander's puzzle-solving skills and commented, "This was so so cool! She’s an excellent puzzle solver!"