Wheel of Fortune contestant reveals what she really said in controversial, 'haunting' loss

Megan Carvale missed a $40,000 prize during a bonus round that many online think she actually got right.

"Living thing" was the category during a controversial Wheel of Fortune bonus round that has taken on a life of its own.

Megan Carvale made it to the show's bonus round on Tuesday but couldn't complete the puzzle. However, many people believed the show did her dirty. Some viewers claim they could hear her say "pink orchird," the correct answer, as she mumbled through potential answers. “For the history books [and] for the sake of this desk — what did you say?” Michael Strahan asked Carvale during a Friday appearance on Good Morning America, where Carvale discussed the controversy.

"I wish I said 'pink' because I'd be $40,000 richer, but I said, 'something,'" she told the show.

Megan's Bonus Round | Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune.

Wheel Of Fortune/YouTube

Carvale guessed a few letters of the final puzzle and was left to fill in the blanks from P_N_ _RC_D. She mumbled through a few responses, one of which sounded like it could be "pink orchid," but was actually "something orchid." It was almost Wheel of Fortune's version of the "blue dress/gold dress" debate. However, it appears that there's a definitive answer here.

Carvale told GMA that she's glad her headline-grabbing moment is something positive. Though it is forcing her to relive the moment over and over. "My son [said] the whole way home... 'Mom, I can't believe you didn't get pink.' The word has already been haunting me, and now all of America believes that I said it," Carvale said.

George Stephanopoulos thanked her for being honest but suggested maybe her family would prefer the winnings. “Even just watching it back and thinking, ��Okay, just have to get through it, watch it once,’ [but] then I wake up yesterday and it’s all over headlines," Carvale said. "Everybody’s talking about the bonus round, and I’m reliving this loss.”

Watch Carvale discuss the bonus round with GMA below.

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