June 06, 2025
Provided Image/Sony Pictures Television
Pat Ralph, a Villanova graduate and former reporter for PhillyVoice, won $60,500 and a trip to Barbados on Thursday night's episode of 'Wheel of Fortune.' Above, Ralph hugs his fiancée, Courtney, after solving the final puzzle just before time expired.
A Villanova graduate and former PhillyVoice reporter appeared on Thursday's episode of "Wheel of Fortune," bringing his A-game (and every other letter) to achieve a nail-biting victory on the game show.
Pat Ralph, who wrote for PhillyVoice from 2020 to 2022, walked away with $60,500 and a vacation in Barbados after solving the final puzzle as time expired.
Ralph, 31, jockeyed with the show's two other contestants through the first several rounds before advancing to the last stage with the Caribbean trip and $20,500 in the bank. For the final puzzle, Ralph opted to go with a phrase. The four letters he chose — along with the five freebies the show gives out — unlocked three of the five words in the puzzle. Ralph had 10 seconds to solve it out as his fiancée, Courtney, stood nearby on set.
With time winding down, Ralph had a eureka moment and proclaimed, "Pick a card, any card," to solve the puzzle. He gave an exultant hug to host Ryan Seacrest, who revealed Ralph had won another $40,000 from the card he received on his final spin of the wheel.
The show was taped in Los Angeles in April.
"The whole thing was in so many ways a blur, because it happened so fast," Ralph said Friday. "I remember I was so excited and couldn't believe it and just started jumping up and down, yelling at Ryan, and then hugging my fiancée. I think the thrill of solving it right before the buzzer was exhilarating."
Ralph and his fiancée live together in Westfield, New Jersey — about 15 miles west of New York City — and plan to get married in Philadelphia this summer. Ralph graduated from Villanova in 2016 and went on to write for publications including Golf Magazine, the New York Post, Business Insider and the Real Deal, in addition to PhillyVoice. He now works in public relations.
"I switched to the dark side," he joked.
Growing up, Ralph said "Wheel of Fortune" was "appointment television," and in more recent years he's gotten into doing word puzzles and games as a hobby. On a whim, he sent an application in January to appear on "Wheel of Fortune" and the producers selected him as a contestant.
Seacrest, who took over as host after Pat Sajak's retirement last year, was exactly as Ralph expected him to be from his impressions of Seacrest's work on "American Idol." Seacrest helped build chemistry among the contestants, Ralph said, and made it easier to feel locked in with the cameras rolling.
Former PhillyVoice reporter Pat Ralph appeared as a contestant on 'Wheel of Fortune' on June 5, 2025.
"When you first get up to the wheel and you feel the cameras and stage lights on you, and you see Ryan and Vanna White coming out onto the set, you start getting those real butterflies and realize that this is all about to happen," Ralph said. "... My whole mindset was to take it one puzzle at a time and not get too worried about the scoreboard or future puzzles."
Spinning the famed wheel isn't as easy as it looks on TV.
"It's actually heavier and harder than you would expect," Ralph said. "Any time I had to spin it, (I) had to put a good effort in to really make it go."
Ralph said he's still figuring out when to plan his trip to Barbados. After a whirlwind experience and a clutch performance under pressure, the most memorable part of the show was connecting with everyone on set.
"Everyone was so nice and supportive and cheered for each other, and there was a camaraderie with the group," Ralph said. "It just made for a really fun day and everyone was happy to see each other win and play well."
