“Wheel of Fortune” viewers are spinning with frustration after a Minnesota mom watched a potential $60,000 payday slip away on a bonus puzzle that fans are calling a “hipster phrase.” Krista Schlegel of Rosemount, Minnesota, played a nearly flawless game on the May 22, 2026, episode — only to be stumped by four little words in the final round.
Schlegel, a wife, mom and self-described super fan of music star Brandi Carlile, came in swinging. She solved the very first toss-up of the night, setting the tone for what would become a strong showing against her two competitors: Mitch Landsburg of Ivyland, Pennsylvania, who has the rather impressive distinction of having sat in a hot tub with Justin Bieber, and Anushi Parikh of McAllen, Texas, a Bollywood dance instructor.
A Strong Start All Around
Parikh grabbed the second toss-up, and Landsburg got things rolling with the “Who Wins?” puzzle — solving “Harry Potter or Voldemort?” for $5,700. Then came the Crossword round, themed “___ Cone.” Schlegel had been chipping away at the puzzle nicely before her spin landed on the dreaded Bankrupt wedge. Landsburg pounced, opting to solve rather than buy another letter, and locked in “Snow, Waffle, Pine” for $1,000. That bumped his total to $6,700.
But the most memorable moment of the night might have been Schlegel’s gutsy ride on the Express Train. For the uninitiated, the Express Train is one of the game’s higher-risk wedges: if you call letters and solve the puzzle correctly, you keep all your winnings. If you miss, it’s a total bankruptcy — no second chances. Most contestants tap out before fully solving it. Schlegel didn’t.
With only vowels left on the board, she nailed “Doing Absolutely Nothing,” banking $9,900. Because it doubled as the prize puzzle, she also walked away with a Caribbean cruise, bringing her total to $18,145. Reddit lit up with praise for the bold move, with one fan posting, “Finally, someone who plays the train the way it’s supposed to be played.”
The Race to the Bonus Round
The Triple Toss-ups kept things lively. Landsburg snagged two of the three, while Schlegel took the third. Parikh, who had been quietly building her bank, capped off her regular-round game by solving the final puzzle, “Lunch Bunch,” to finish with $6,950. Landsburg ended the night with $10,700.
That left Schlegel as the night’s winner with $20,145 — and a ticket to the Bonus Round. She brought along her parents and two best friends to cheer her on, and she selected “Phrase” as her category.
The standard “R, S, T, L, N, and E” went up on the board. Schlegel rounded out her picks with “C, D, M, and O.” Then came the reveal: “_ L_ _E _O_R _ _R_.”
The Puzzle That Stumped Everyone
As the clock ticked down, Schlegel rapid-fired guesses: “I Love Your Hair,” “I Love Your Words,” “I Love Your Care,” “I Live Your…” The buzzer sounded. The answer? “I Like Your Aura” — slang for complimenting someone’s vibe or energy.
The envelope held $40,000, which would have pushed her grand total to $60,145. Instead, she went home with $20,145 (still a great night, by any measure) — but the internet was not in a forgiving mood.
Fans flooded Reddit to vent about the bonus puzzle, which many described as a “hipster phrase” they’d never heard anyone actually say. “What the actual f**k was that final puzzle phrase? Please, I’d love to see video evidence that anyone actually says that,” one viewer wrote. Another fan admitted, “I was thinking I LOVE YOUR WORK for the bonus puzzle until the Os came up, I was stumped after that.”
Others poked fun at the generational divide the puzzle seemed to expose, with comments like “What?? Who says that” peppering the threads. To be fair, “aura” has become a staple of younger internet vernacular, often used to describe someone’s overall energy — so the phrase isn’t pulled from thin air. It’s just not exactly dinner-table dialogue.
Still a Win Worth Celebrating
Even without the $40,000 envelope, Schlegel had plenty to smile about: a five-figure cash haul, a Caribbean cruise, and the rare bragging rights of having actually conquered the Express Train. Not bad for a night’s work.
“Wheel of Fortune” airs weekdays, with episodes streaming the next day on Hulu and Peacock. As for whether “I Like Your Aura” will catch on as the next great compliment? The jury — and Reddit — is still very much out.