Wheel of Fortune‘s new millionaire Christina Derevjanik took home $1,035,155 on the September 30, 2025, episode. On an unforgettable night, she became the game show‘s biggest winner ever in its long history. Now she has revealed to TV Insider whether she quit her job and how she celebrated her big win.
After landing on the One Million Dollar wedge during the first puzzle, the Stamford, Connecticut native, solved it and got to keep the wedge. Then, Derevjanik miraculously didn’t land on any Bankrupts throughout the rest of the game, so the $1 million transferred over to the Bonus Round. Instead of the $100,000 envelope, the $1 million envelope sat on the wheel.
Derevjanik was host Ryan Seacrest‘s first one-million-dollar winner and the fourth in the game show’s history. The first one-million-dollar grand prize was won by Michelle Lowenstein in October 2008. The second was by Autumn Erhard in May 2013. The most recent was by Sarah Manchester in September 2014. Now, Derevjanik joins the ranks of those women.
She picked “Living Things” for her Bonus Round category and quickly solved “Pack of Coyotes” after all of her letters appeared. Derevjanik has worked in marketing for 10 years, according to her LinkedIn. She currently works as a marketing manager at Con Edison. In her spare time, Derevjanik enjoys watching Hallmark movies, hiking with her dog, Hazel, and doing puzzles.
TV Insider talked with Christina Derevjanik about her win and her plans for the future.
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TVI: Congratulations on your big win. Has it sunk in yet?
Christina Derevjanik: It has started to sink in. The last few days, it’s just been such a whirlwind. I’m definitely starting to feel like this is real.
Not only did you win the $1 million, but you are the biggest Wheel of Fortune winner to date. How does that feel?
Amazing! I honestly can’t believe it. I started watching Wheel of Fortune when I was young, and then I played the handheld games growing up in the ’90s. So, to go from that to becoming the biggest winner ever, it’s just a surreal experience.
Do you have any plans for your winnings?
I am definitely going to invest in a home in the next couple of years. I really think that’s my main priority. I also have a couple of trips coming up that I won from the show — Montana and Toyko — so I’m looking forward to just taking a couple of great trips and enjoying the financial freedom that this now offers me.
That ties into, are you going back to your job?
Yeah, I’m going back. Well, I am back. It was a funny little joke that my boss/ friend and I had because she accompanied me to the taping. So the whole trip there, we were like, “Well, if you win a million dollars, I guess I should probably expect you to be putting in your two weeks’ notice.” I was like, “Yep.” And, in your mind, you’re like, “That’s never gonna happen.” So the fact that that actually occurred, we were like, “What?” But I love working with her, so I’m going to be staying.
How hard was it to keep your win a secret?
Extremely hard. I mean, four months of keeping that to myself, such a big event in my life, to kind of hide that from everyone for so long was really difficult. But now that it’s out there and everyone’s able to celebrate alongside me. It’s just such a fun experience, and I’m really just trying to take it all in right now, and just live in the moment.
Did you have a watch party?
I did last night. There were probably about 30 or so of my friends and family there. It was just so fun. I loved seeing their reactions. Everyone was just shocked.
What was going through your head when Ryan Seacrest turned the envelope around and you saw One Million Dollars?
I was in complete shock, as I’m sure you probably saw from my reaction. I started out the game show with the first spin landing on that million dollar wedge, and the chances of holding on to that for the entire game and being able to then go to the bonus round, the chances of winning a million dollars are slim, so having to go through the entire game with it and not land on bankrupt at all was just a miracle. The fact that I got it to the bonus round and then solved the puzzle and had landed on that wedge again was just — it was pure shock when Ryan opened that envelope and showed me the million dollars. And his reaction was just the cherry on top. He was so excited for me, and really shared in my excitement, and so did Vanna [White]. It was just such a great experience.
You landed on the million-dollar wedge on your first spin, and then didn’t land on bankrupt at all. Did you think in that moment ‘Wow, I really have a chance to win this million dollars’?
The whole game, I knew in my head that I needed to avoid that bankrupt, so I was spinning the wheel the least amount of times as I could, and just as soon as I knew what the puzzle was, I would solve it, so I definitely had a strategy in that sense. And then going into the bonus round, I didn’t really think that it was a possibility. It was kind of in the back of my head. And then when I solved the puzzle, I kind of forgot about it, to be honest, and then it was just like, “Hh my gosh, this just happened. I just won a million dollars.” It felt like it was not going to happen. And it was just pure shock when it did.
Did you have your letters for the Bonus Round pre-picked or were they a spur-of-the-moment thing?
I did not. It was not pre-picked. I’ve watched the show for so long, that I did have in my head, ‘C’ is usually a good letter to pick and ‘A,’ but it was kind of, once I saw the other letters that had populated, it was really a game-time decision. And those couple of letters that I did pick and that were in the puzzle really just clicked. As soon as those popped up. I knew what it was, so it just worked out in my favor. So it was really exciting.
You could tell from your expression once the letters pop up, like ‘She’s got this.’
That’s what Ryan said. He’s like, “She’s giving me a look. She knows it!”
We saw Ryan and Vanna congratulate you on the show, but did they say anything to you afterwards, especially since it was Ryan’s first one-million win?
Oh yeah. I talked to them for quite some time afterwards, and everyone was just so excited for the show, so excited for me. It had been about, I think, 11 years since the last million-dollar winner. So, a lot of people haven’t even seen that since they started on the show. And like I said, I was Ryan’s first million-dollar winner as well, so he had been manifesting this. I heard this was his New Year’s resolution. So the fact that I was the one who was actually able to bring that to reality was just so cool, such a great experience. And everyone on the show, from the producers to Ryan to Vanna, was just so wonderful the entire day.
What was the vibe like after you won? Did you go out and celebrate? Did you go to your hotel room and cry?
*laughs* Yeah, my boss and I, she was with me, so we went out for celebratory drinks, and kind of just relaxed and tried to remember that this is actually happening to us. This is not a dream. And then the next day, we were back to work and having to keep it a secret for the next four months. But now, now we’re able to finally celebrate with everyone, and it’s, it’s a really exciting time.
Did your fellow contestants congratulate you backstage? What were their reactions?
Oh, yeah. Everyone was so happy. Everyone who was there for the taping day was ecstatic, and they were all congratulating me. Everyone was just so happy to have even been part of that day. Everyone in the audience, they gave a standing ovation when I won the million dollars. So it was a really cool experience. Everyone was just so happy.
You won two trips. Are you excited for them? Do you know who you are taking with you?
I’m very excited about them. One is in Montana. One is to Tokyo. I am still figuring out who I’m going to take. There are a lot of people who are volunteering as my plus one, so the decision will be made shortly, but I’m very excited. I think that both of them will be a great travel experience, totally different from one another. Montana and then Tokyo. I am just really excited to be able to enjoy some time off and just really experience the culture of Tokyo and and enjoy some hiking over in Montana.
Are there any other game shows that you would want to be on since you have a lot of luck on Wheel of Fortune?
The two game shows growing up that I watched were Wheel of Fortune and The Price Is Right. Those two are my favorites, so I feel like I could do that.
Any last thoughts or takeaways?
I’m just very grateful for the experience and for everyone who’s been part of this journey, and really was just such a surreal experience that I am really thrilled to have been able to share with everyone watching.
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