Tomah resident to appear on Wheel of Fortune

A Tomah resident is set to appear on “Wheel of Fortune” Nov. 24.

Bridget Owens, who has lived in Tomah for 35 years, will be a contestant on the episode airing on Channel 13.

Owens said she was encouraged to apply to be a contestant on the show at the encouragement of her wife of 25 years, Cindy. The show is a favorite in their household, and the couple watch it together every evening.

“We revolve our dinner hour around when ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is on,” she said. “She and I compete against each other while we’re watching. It’s sort of a fun thing we do.”

As she moved through the application process, Owens said she struggled to believe she might actually make it on the show.

“I really was in disbelief the whole time,” she said.

When she received the email saying she had been selected, she traveled to California to tape the episode. Filming took place in August, she said.

Owens described her experience on set as overwhelmingly positive.

“Everyone involved with the show, you could tell they wanted all of us contestants to have a good time,” she said.

Owens is also familiar with life on stage. While she works as a chiropractor at her own practice, Active Health in Tomah, she has been an actor with the Tomah Area Community Theater since 2014. She is a past president of the theater’s board and continues to host fundraisers for the theater.

Even with that experience, she admitted she was nervous about performing under the bright studio lights and the fast pace of the production.

“I was nervous my brain would shut down,” she said. “Because there are a lot of things. You’ve got the lights; you’ve got the producer shouting stuff.”

“It’s way harder in real life than it is from your recliner, for sure,” she added. “I was one of those contestants that I yell at from my recliner. I do not yell at the contestants anymore.”

Owens also spoke highly of meeting host Ryan Seacrest.

“He is just as likable in person as he appears on TV,” she said. “He’s personable, he’s down to earth and he just chit-chats with you. He just makes you feel real at ease.”

Owens said she’s received a lot of support from the Tomah community.

“It’s been crazy,” she said. “I cannot go anywhere without somebody stopping me and going, ‘I’m so excited for the 24th.’ It’s been cool to have everyone be so excited about it.”

This will not be Owens’ first time on national television. In 2020, she appeared on the “Rachael Ray Show” during its Super Bowl cookoff episode, where she represented the Green Bay Packers after the team made the NFL playoffs. Owens competed with her stuffed mushrooms, the “Frozen Tundra Humongi Fungi,” filled with sausage, bacon, Cajun seasoning and cheese.

Owens said she hopes her appearance on the show will inspire others to take a chance and apply.

“I hope that they go, ‘Well gosh, if Bridget can do it, then I can do it,’” she said. “I hope more people apply. It’s just a really fun experience and more people should do it.”

A community watch party will be held at Taphouse Twenty, 201 Helen Walton Dr., Suite 1, at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24.