Pat Sajak delivers tearful final spin on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune as emotional GOODBYE leaves crowd in stunned silence—fans say “TV will never be the same”

In a moment that felt like the end of an era, Pat Sajak spun the wheel one last time on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, bringing his legendary hosting career to a poignant close. The lights dimmed, the music softened, and the crowd rose in a thunderous standing ovation. But it was Sajak’s heartfelt goodbye that truly hit home. Why did he choose this moment to walk away? And what did he whisper into the mic that made even Vanna White tear up?

Watch the full farewell that has everyone talking—don’t miss the final spin that changed game show history.

Here's how Pat Sajak said goodbye to “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” in his final episode as host

Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Bernadette Peters, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson on ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’.Credit: Eric McCandless/disney

Pat Sajak is officially leaving Wheel of Fortune — for real this time.

The beloved, Emmy-winning, longtime host of the game show staple took his last-ever spin on Tuesday’s episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

“I want to thank ABC for the opportunity to host season 5 of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. I hope they’ll take a close look at my proposed primetime series, Sajak Senior Secret Agent,” he joked at the top of the show.

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“Sounds like a winner,” bandied Vanna White, Sajak’s cohost of over 40 years.

The episode proceeded as usual, with Broadway legends Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Bernadette Peters as celebrity contestants. After a scintillating round of game play, in which a laissez-faire Sajak threw Peters’ million-dollar wedge over his shoulder after she spun a Bankrupt and joked with the trio, Ferguson won, taking home $59,300 for his charity, No Kid Hungry by Share Our Strength.

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At the end of the episode, Sajak, White, Ferguson, Goldsberry, and Peters all took to the stage to bid the maestro a final adieu.

“See you next time for more Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” Sajak said — though of course, we won’t see him next time.

Pat Sajak hosting ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’ in 2025.Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty

Sajak, 78, announced his retirement from Wheel of Fortune in June 2023, exactly four decades since he took the show from daytime to nighttime in 1983.

“Well, the time has come,” Sajak said in a statement shared to social media at the time. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”

The Chicago native has made good on that promise, joining his longtime friend and KHON-TV Hawaii anchor Joe Moore for a stage production of Prescription: Murder, the play which was eventually adapted into the pilot episode ofColumbo. He spun the wheel on the main series for the last time last June, dedicating his parting statement to White.

“Like me, she takes the show very seriously, but not herself. I shudder to think what these 40-plus years might have been like had they brought someone in all full of themselves, playing the prima donna role,” Sajak shared in a statement. “Vanna is as sweet and unassuming as she seems. We’ve seen a lot of changes in each other’s lives over the years but we’ve always been there for each other.”