Who won 'Million Dollar Secret' Season 1? Former In-N-Out cook transformed her life with $1 million
Netflix’s 'Million Dollar Secret' Season 1 concluded on April 9, 2025, and announced Cara Kies as the winner. After winning against fellow finalists Corey Niles and Samantha Hubbard, Cara took home the prize money. However, after emerging victorious, she went back to her regular job at the fast-food joint, In-N-Out. In an April 9, 2025, interview with Tudum, she shared that she went back to flipping burgers. The show aired nearly a year later, and she told the publication, "No one even knew I was gone. When the show came out, (my co-workers) were like, 'When did you go? We didn't know you even left for a month.' It’s just been crazy having this huge secret that no one knows. It’s such a weird feeling." Life now looks very different for the Season 1 winner as she has quit working and is expecting a child with her husband.
In her Tudum interview, Cara spoke about the moment she told her husband that she had won. “I was able to call my husband that night. We just started crying, hearing each other’s voices, and that was so emotional. Then, being able to tell him, it was a dream come true.” Cara added that her husband had been supportive of her and believed in her. After winning the show, Cara, in her April 9, 2025, interview with TV Guide, noted that it had been “so stressful” for her. She said that she had never been “more nervous” in her life. The winner also mentioned that upon winning, she intended to help her family.
When she was asked about what she did with the prize money, Cara revealed, “My family, they’ve had a lot of hardships throughout the years, and I feel like one bad thing after another, and finally, something good happened for one of us.” She noted that the money would change her and her husband’s lives. Fans must remember Cara’s post on Instagram after her win. She was still in denial, and wrote, “I still can’t believe I’m typing this but…I just won ONE. MILLION. DOLLARS. On a Netflix game show!!”
During her appearance on The Viall Files, Cara mentioned that she was not interested in spending her money on “designer clothes” or “cars.” She shared that she had quit working after “almost eight years.” She now enjoys her life with her husband, Andreas Kies, and the duo has been together since 2013. On March 24, 2026, Cara shared that the couple is expecting their first baby as she wrote on Instagram, “Love is patient…and so is His timing. Baby Kies. Our greatest blessing yet.” Some of her former cast members also congratulated her on the news.
