Grand Rapids couple solve very Minnesota puzzle, win big on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

DULUTH — Ashley and Chris Walker didn’t need the 10-second countdown to solve the final puzzle on a recent episode of “Wheel of Fortune”: two words, 10 letters, category: what are you doing.

“They look just really confident to me,” longtime host Pat Sajak said on the Sweethearts Week episode that aired Feb. 12.

The couple won a total of $65,900 on the evening game show that culminated with a concept that was relatable for the duo from Grand Rapids, Minn. Chris Walker, before he solved it, took half a beat to explain their collective confidence to Sajak.

“We’re from Minnesota, so,” he said, then shouted out the game-winner: “BUNDLING UP!”

The couple, who go by “Chrashley,” — “Heck, yeah, we do,” Ashley responded when asked about the portmanteau — recorded the episode at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif., in January and had to stay quiet about the win until the episode aired. They didn’t even dare tell their daughters Kirby, 7, and Suzette, 5, who watch the show with them to work on learning letters.

“They’re talkers,” Ashley said.

Winning, Chris said, was an adrenaline rush. Ashley added it still doesn’t feel real. They celebrated with friends who were in the audience, in part, by riding scooters along Venice Beach in California.

In their regular home viewings of “Wheel of Fortune,” it became obvious that Chris is really good at solving the puzzles. His wife told him he should audition — so he did. He filled out an application, won a handful of virtual games, and said he felt like he had done well. He heard back from the show seven months later, with a twist. They wanted him to audition again, but alongside his wife.

He knew then that it was a sure thing.

“I consider myself an outgoing person, but I pale in comparison to Ashley,” he said.

Chrashley became friends their freshman year at St. Cloud State University, where they both studied mass communication. He finally asked her out on the night of graduation. They don’t remember where the nickname came from, but they’ve leaned into it by calling their home “The Chrash Pad” and using the name on address labels for their wedding invitations. No one is surprised they landed on TV.

“We heard of lot of comments like, ‘Of course you guys are on ‘Wheel of Fortune,’” Chris said.

For their 10-year anniversary, they had close friends use a random online city generator to pick a trip destination and to book the flights, hotels and excursions. They didn’t know until they got to the airport that they were headed to Southaven, Miss., where one of the city’s key attractions, they found, is an Ashley furniture shop.

This is the story they think sealed “The Wheel.”

“We are addicted to fun,” Chris said, adding that they live by a concept they learned when they were bartenders at Zorba’s on Green Lake in Spicer, Minn. “Life should be gulped, not sipped.”

“We’re average, everyday people,” Ashley added. “We just say yes to things. When you say yes, great things happen.”

Ashley was recently recognized as a “Wheel” winner at her hometown Target. When Chris was at a brewery last weekend, strangers asked why people kept congratulating him. He pulled up the a clip from the episode. The couple used their winnings to buy a pontoon for cruising on Pokegama Lake. They plan to give it a name in honor of the show’s hosts Sajak and Vanna White:

“Panna Whijak.”