Round and round: Yorkville woman to appear on Wheel of Fortune Wednesday

It’s not often your wildest dreams come true, but when good fortune spun in Becky Lenski’s favor, the Yorkville resident knew she wanted mementos of her parents with her on stage and her two children in the audience.

When you are a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune, Lenski said, they teach you to pull the massive wheel toward you first, before pushing it out, spinning it with all your hopes and strength.

“Wheel of Fortune is like a religion in my household,” Lenski said. “I grew up watching it with my parents every evening before dinner, and my parents watched it with my kids ever since they were little. Both of my parents have now passed away. They would have loved watching me on the show. They were both definitely on the stage with me.”

Lenski is a featured contestant on the Wheel of Fortune airing on ABC on Wed., April 16, at 6:30 p.m, with hosts Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White.

The selection process wasn’t easy. Lenski submitted an audition video online, first hearing from the show in October 2023. Next, she had to pass two rounds of zoom interviews, the first a personality test, the second, a word puzzle competition against other potential contestants. Then she was told she may hear from them or may not.

“It was going on a year, and I hadn’t heard back,” Lenski said. “Then out of the blue, two months ago, I got the email. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. It was my dream come true ever since I was young. It means so much to me and my kids. I first called my son, who was at college, so I could share the jumping for joy. I told my kids, next to having them both, my best day was getting on the Wheel of Fortune.”

Lenski said it wasn’t lost on her that should would be representing on the national stage her family, her Yorkville community and her clients she loves teaching as a pilates instructor. She said raising her kids in the tight-knit small-town community, it was a blessing showing the world a slice of Yorkville pride.

She said one of her oldest pilates client, a 70-year old woman, is a huge fan of Wheel of Fortune and said she is ecstatic to watch Lenski perform. Lenski said she loves coming in to work knowing she is helping people every day, strengthening their movements, and empowering their bodies and mobility.

Lenski said she believes her passion for nurturing mind and body feed into the long-hours playing board games with her family.

“It’s about getting out of your head, having fun and creating special moments with your family,” Lenski said. “Your family is not going to be there and young forever.”

She said even with those fun family game nights, nothing prepares you for actually being on the stage in Hollywood.

“I kept on saying, I can’t believe I’m here, I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Lenski said. “While practicing, I realized the wheel is much heavier than you think. I thought with the cameras I’d be nervous, but because I love the game so much, I felt excited, calm and well-prepared. You are always nervous about not spinning it hard enough. But, I think I did my first spin just right.”

Lenski said she felt like she had a little extra guiding help pushing her along.

“The lipstick I wore was a lipstick from my mom,” Lenski said. “I wanted to make sure I had something from both my parents. In the 1980’s, Vanna White did a book signing at a store my dad worked in. So, my dad always kept a glossy portrait of Vanna that she autographed to him. I brought the photo with me to the studio. I got it signed again by Vanna. It was my memento from them that they were here with me.”

She said her parents would be so proud of her today, and she hopes to instill the same unyielding passion within her own children.

“Always keep on pursuing that dream, no matter how crazy it is,” Lenski said. “If you have a passion, never give up on it.”