Jeopardy! contestant reveals death of her husband weeks after giving him a shout-out on the show

A “Jeopardy!” contestant has lost her husband three weeks after giving him a “huge shoutout” on a recent episode. Maria Lauro, a contract specialist from Pittsburgh, made her game show debut Dec.20, going up against Joe Asaminew, an ER physician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Laura Faddah, a manager from Memphis, Tennessee. The widow said that despite her show moment being a “dream come true,” watching the debut of her episode was “bittersweet” after her husband died. The host, Ken Jennings, conducted his daily interview segment, walking over to each contestant’s podium and giving them a moment to share a little about themselves.“I’m told you want to shout-out your family.

Your husband and your son,” he said to Lauro. “I’m a quiz mom and a history mom.My husband has been trying to get me to apply for this show for years,” she said.

“This is my first time trying out.In fact, before I got the call, he said, ‘Is it time for you to reapply?’ He’s my coach.“And because this show is being aired during the holidays it’s a Christmas present for him.

Honey, you were right!” Following the episode, Lauro wrote online that her husband died between the time of filming and her episode airing. “Today is probably the most bittersweet day of my life.

Thanks to the encouragement of my husband, I tried out and actually made it to the Alex Trebek stage,” she expressed in a heartbreaking message, per the Sun.“And, as you’ll see when you watch, I gave him a huge shout-out in my interview, which I was keeping a secret. “But he’s never going to see it because he unexpectedly died three weeks ago.

(He did know how I did.)“I’ve got a bunch of people meeting me at a local bar that plays the show every night.I know he’d want me to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame,” Lauro concluded.

“But God, this is hard.”Despite the tragedy, Lauro called her time on “Jeopardy!” one of “the best experiences” of her life.Accordin...