Every so often, a Jeopardy! contestant comes along who generates lots of interest. That is the case with Jason Singer, who appeared on the show in early July. He was hoping to keep the Jeopardy! title in the household. His wife, Susan McMillan, was a Jeopardy! victor four years ago. She took home a total of $35, 600, per People.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Per the outlet, Singer said, "We're also hoping to become the first-ever couple to have been married first and then gone on to both be Jeopardy! champions, so some fun history is at stake."
Singer did emerge victorious, earning $22,401, per ABC News. But it turns out that he and his wife are not apparently the first married couple to win on the show, despite publicity to the contrary.
A Former Champ Has Come Forward To Say That There Have Been Previous Married Winners Of The Show
According to ABC News, "The 'Jeopardy!' team confirmed Singer and McMillan may be the first already-married couple to become 'Jeopardy!' winners." A web site called The Jeopardy Fan countered that, stating "the show made it clear to ABC that the show did not track such a statistic."
Someone in a position to know stepped forward to challenge Singer and McMillan's claim to fame.
Per People, Kristin Hamlin Sausville, who won Jeopardy! five times a decade ago, said on Facebook that "There is something really surreal and honestly kind of sinister in watching part of yourself be erased in real time. Maybe you've seen an article in the past day or two about how one of the Jeopardy! contestants last night had a wife who was a J! champion, and was hoping he would win so they could be the first married champions in J! history."
Throughout her lengthy post, Sausville never refers to either Singer or McMillan by their names.
Sausville Contends That There Have Been A Bunch Of Married Couples Who Won 'Jeopardy!,' Including Her And Her Husband
She added, "If you're friends with me, you're probably aware that both Justin and I won; Justin in 2011 and me in 2015. But we weren't even the first. As far as I've been able to research, Dan Pawson and Andrea Saenz were the first. And between Justin and me and the person who aired yesterday, there were several, including Amy Stephenson and Scott Bateman, as well as David Rigsby and Ryan Alley. There are a decent number of couples who met through J! and later married, particularly through various Teachers Tournaments."
She Also Slammed The Media For Spreading What She Deems Are Inaccuracies
Sausville continued, saying, "But the local media for the guy last night took up the story and ran with it, and then other media picked it up and ran it without checking for accuracy, and now it's everywhere that the guy last night is part of the first married J! champions ever. Now that the bots have the story, it would be impossible to correct them all even if I cared enough to take the time to do so."
Jason Singer Issued A Statement Addressing The Controversy
Per the outlet, Singer issued his own statement that expressed profound regret for the awkward situation. He said he "would never want to hurt [other winners] or diminish their accomplishments in any way."
"Kristin Sausville and all the other champions and championship couples deserve all the plaudits in the world because winning on Jeopardy! means you're an interesting, curious, engaged human who's worked really hard and performed incredibly under a lot of pressure."
Singer also wrote, "I also reached out to Kristin on Facebook and apologized personally and gave her my cell phone number if she ever wanted to talk. I'm sad for her and for anybody else who felt diminished by our media coverage, but I hope she gets the attention she's earned, as with every other couple who's ever been on."
