Wheel of Fortune participant loses the BMW Prize after failing to solve the simple puzzle

A Wheel of Fortune contestant was left devastated after failing to solve a simple puzzle and missing out on a BMW.

In a recent episode, the contestant named Tarhea won the game and chose the 'Food and Drink' category for her bonus round.

Tarhea was given the letters 'BAGELS & ___G_N_TS' and tried several times to find the missing letters.

The hopeful contestant started guessing as she said, “bagels and fritters,” then “bagels and croissants,” but failed to come up with the correct answer: “bagels and donuts.”

Host Pat Sajak then showed Tarhea that she had missed the BMW as she threw her head back and stomped her feet, visibly upset by her tremendous loss.

“You know a lot of stores don't spell it right anymore, and you probably did too, but there's a 'UGH' up there, I'm sorry,” Sajak told the contestant as she cried out.

Although she didn't win the bonus round, Tarhea still managed to walk away with $25,898 from the game show.

Sajak then said that the BMW has been up for grabs for a week and that no entrant has won it. He said jokingly, “I think I understand. Isn't that the rule?'

Viewers took to

“She has a BMW over there and can't say bagels and donuts. I screamed at my damn TV, poor girl,” another posted.

'Are you serious? That was the easiest puzzle ever. I suck and I get it,” another person commented on YouTube.

Other commentators sympathized with Tarhea and chose not to attack her for her costly failure.

“I can never blame a participant for missing a puzzle that I easily solved from home,” said another on YouTube.

“It's entirely possible that if I were on national television in front of a studio audience, I would be tongue-tied and not have a working answer.”

Another said Sajak “had a point” when he said donuts are no longer spelled the same.

One positive response to X said: 'Every participant gets a turn, there is no need for negativity. Keep spinning!'

In another recent episode that aired in December, a contestant went viral for the “worst guess ever” when she was faced with a puzzle where the majority of the letters were already in front of her.

Gishma Tabari from New York was on the show when she was asked to solve a puzzle in the “showbiz” category and was given: “TH- -RITI-S_-GR-E.”

Tabari then guessed that the answer was: 'THE BRITISH OGRE', when it was 'THE CRITICS AGREE'.

“Why did I say it again?” Tabari thought to herself.

Before joining the show, Tabari was afraid of giving a “stupid” answer to one of the game's puzzles.

“The funny thing was, right before I went on, I went to my husband, Saman, and I thought…” My fear is that I'm going to go on the show and say or do something stupid that everyone will like. start laughing”. That's exactly what happened.” she said Fox news.

Tabari explained that she believes her gamble was simply a product of her creativity.

“I think it just came from my imagination. From the moment I got up there and saw the sign, that's what I saw. Now that I look at it, I think… it doesn't make any sense.”

Her response seemed to gain traction on social media as some users started mocking her.

'What? You've never heard of the British Ogre,” one user joked.

“This woman just guessed this puzzle as The British Ogre,” another user added. 'So many British Ogres in showbiz.'

“British Ogre sounds like a cool band name,” said one person.

“Honestly, I prefer THE BRITISH OGRE as the puzzles could use a little more crazy originality at times,” said another.

Responding to the comments she faced, Tabari said: “People generally don't know who I am. I have a degree, I'm working… I feel like I just had a rough moment on national television.”

Despite the online commotion and her terrible response, Tabari achieved her goal of actually being on the show she had been watching since she was five.

She still managed to walk away with a cash prize and a cruise to the Bahamas.

In June, Sajak, 77, announced he would be leaving Wheel of Fortune after the show's 41st season wrapped.

“Well, the time has come. “I have decided that our 41st season, which starts in September, will be my last,” he said.

“It's been a wonderful ride and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Thank you to all of you,” he added.

Suzanne Prete, Sony Pictures Television's executive vice president of game shows, revealed that Sajak will serve as a consultant on the show for three years.

Sajak became the host of Wheel of Fortune on December 28, 1981, after Chuck Woolery hosted from the show's premiere in 1975 until he left over a salary dispute.

Vanna White joined the show in 1982 after original host Susan Stafford left to become a humanitarian aid worker.

Created by Merv Griffin, Wheel of Fortune is the longest-running syndicated game show in the US.