


Season 37 Jeopardy! contestant Matt Walks might not have had what it took to bring home a victory back in March 2021, but he might have won something even better: true love.
According to Yahoo! Entertainment, the digital journalist from Billings, Montana came in second place during his first run on the show, garnering $1,599 in winnings and allowing him to return Season 40’s Second Chance tournament on Monday’s (Sept. 18) episode. However, he definitely placed first in the heart of one viewer watching at home back in 2021, who ultimately became his girlfriend.
Walks explained that Katie Couric — who he described as a “great host” — was hosting the episode, and unknowingly helped spark the romance between he and his current girlfriend.
“There was a woman in Oregon who was watching the show specifically for Katie,” Walks told host Ken Jennings. “And even though I didn’t win, I got a great consolation prize because she Tweeted at me, and now we’ve been dating for two years.”
Walks then pointed her out in the audience, where she blew him a kiss and waved.
Walks acknowledged that it “takes a lot of confidence” to slide into a Jeopardy! contestant’s DMs, but noted, “She shot her shot.”
It turns out that Walks has Jeopardy! in his blood. According to J! Archive, his father, Russell Walks, secured a victory on the show in April 2000. The father-son duo teamed up on Season 1 of FOX’s Beat Shazam in 2017 and took home a $173,000 grand prize.
Walks did end up losing to fellow former Season 37 contestant Deanna Bolio on Monday, who won despite her being informed mid-game that one of her previously accepted answers was incorrect, per TV Insider. However, Walks was the only one out of the the three contestants to guess the correct answer of Ernest Hemingway for the Final Jeopardy question.
Nonetheless, his “consolation prize” is more than any Jeopardy! grand prize is worth.
Jeopardy! airs on weeknights at 7/6c. Check the website for local listings.