From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Season 9 Finale
This season was the biggest in Biggest Loser history — literally — and last night's finale was equally huge! The 11 teams of couples — the heaviest contestants ever — had battled it out all season and seeing their dramatic transformations on stage was jaw-dropping and inspiring. There was $350,000 on the line — $250,000 for the contestant crowned the Biggest Loser and $100,000 for the eliminated player who lost the most at home. With Michael and Ashley, this season's heaviest man and woman, already guaranteed spots in the top three, the question still remained: Had America voted to have Koli or Daris join them? Learn the answer — and find out who's the reigning Biggest Loser — as I break down the events of Season 9's live finale.
Daris or Koli? Last week both of these guys fell below the yellow line and America got to vote for who should be the third finalist. And last night the answer was revealed; but before we found out, we got to see their new looks. First, Daris ripped through the image of his former self and looked svelte in his blazer, tie, and jeans. He even showed off his beautiful (first!) girlfriend, Heather. Then a super-hyped Koli burst onto the stage looking slim and dapper in his preppy gray blazer, pink tie, and hot-pink pants. They both showed so much confidence — and the look of pure happiness on their faces was priceless. Unfortunately, only one of them could move on as the third finalist to compete for the title of the Biggest Loser. Out of millions of votes, Ali announced that Daris was chosen, however Koli was still in the running for the $100,000 at-home prize with the other eliminated 18 contestants.
Shay's Season 8's Subway Surprise: At last season's finale in December, Shay, the heaviest woman in Biggest Loser history, was challenged to continue to lose even more weight. Subway offered to give her $1,000 for each pound she lost by the Season 9 finale last night. She'd weighed 304 pounds back then, and in the months since, she lost 52 pounds. That means she won $52,000! Jared, from the Subway commercials, was there to present the check to her, but he also made her another offer on behalf of the restaurant chain. He challenged her to run a marathon with him and, if she did, Subway would double that prize money. She accepted the challenge! Forget being a "loser" — with a total of 224 pounds lost and her prize money, Shay has gained so much, including her health and her life. She rocks!
$100,000 on the Line: Next, it was time for the at-home contestants to shine! The first four ladies came to the stage to weigh in and compete for the at-home prize. The Blue Team's Victoria and Cherita came out looking glamorous in bright blue, and Pink Team's Sherry and the White Team's Maria, proud moms of two of the finalists, were both looking beautiful too. Cherita kicked off the weigh-in and lost 91 pounds, a 32.85 total percent of weight loss — without ever staying at the Ranch! She had been sent home before she got the opportunity to return to the Ranch and lost her weight entirely on her own. Amazing! Then her daughter, Victoria, got on the scale and showed her 136-pound weight loss, or 37.99 percent. Sherry was next. She blew a kiss in the air to her late husband, and then showed a 99-pound weight loss — an amazing 45.41 total percent — and took the lead spot. Following her was Maria, who weighed in with an incredible 114 pounds lost — a weight-loss percentage of 40.57. She's come so far since the day we were in the pool together and I helped her overcome her debilitating fear of water. What an amazing moment that was — in fact, it was my favorite moment of the season!
The next four to reveal their new selves were the Purple Team's mom-daughter duo, Patti and Stephanie, and the Brown Team's twin brothers, John and James. Patti was determined to lose weight, especially when she turned 55, the same age her dad was when he died. She lost 73 pounds since she initially started on the Ranch, which meant she'd lost 30.04 percent. Before Stephanie got on the scale, we got a glimpse at her new relationship with the Black Team's Sam, whom she started dating on the show. She weighed in and had a 99-pound weight loss, or 37.50 percent. Then it was a double dose of weight loss. James stepped on the scale and lost 128 pounds, or 26.39 percent. His twin brother, John, lost 149 pounds, which was 30.79 percent — and earned bragging rights for beating his brother. They all had amazing transformations, but none of the eight could knock Sherry out of the running for the top at-home prize.
The weigh-ins continued with the Red Team's Melissa heading out onstage in a smokin' hot red dress with her husband, Lance, and the Green Team's Migdalia and her mom Miggy — all looking great. On the scale first was Melissa, who lost 90 pounds, 48.63 percent, and showed off her amazing arms — and even heckled Bob. Her hubby, Lance, lost an impressive 128 pounds, or 35.07 percent. Migdalia lost 52 pounds, 19.62 percent, and her mom, Miggy, lost 91 pounds, or 37.92 percent. Miggy looked so remarkably different! She showed off her new short bob hairdo and even did a celebration dance after her weigh-in. Still, none of these contestants could bump Sherry from her lead spot.
Then it was time for the two father-and-daughter duos. O'Neal and Sunshine looked cheery in yellow, and a smiling O'Neal bounded down the stairs decked out in a suit and fedora hat. The Black Team's Darrell and Andrea looked sleek in their black outfits too. O'Neal stepped on the scale first and lost 159 pounds, or 40.87 percent of his body weight, and his gorgeous daughter, Sunshine, went from 275 pounds to 161 pounds, a 114-pound loss, or 41.45 percent. Darrell had been told by Dr. H that he was the "sickest man on campus." Now that he is 189 pounds lighter, or 45.76 percent, he's gotten his life back! His dramatic loss also meant he beat Sherry's total percent weight loss and took the lead for the at-home prize money. His daughter Andrea lost 84 pounds, or 28.19 percent, and looked fantastic.
It was down to three more people to weigh in — the Orange Team's Cheryl and the Gray Team's Sam and Koli. I also got to step in before they stepped on the scale to give everyone a sneak peek at my new show Losing It With Jillian. Then it was time for the final three of the eliminated players to show everyone what progress they'd made. Cheryl lost 76 pounds, or 33.48 percent, going from 227 pounds to 151 pounds. Sam lost 142 pounds, 38.17 percent, and dropped from 372 to 230 pounds. And it was all down to Koli. He needed to lose more than 184 pounds to take the lead and win the at-home prize. He lost 215 pounds, 53.35 percent — he went from 403 pounds to 188 pounds and was now $100,000 richer!
Three Winners, But Only One "Biggest Loser": All three of the final contestants had done such an amazing job at losing weight and taking back their lives. They were all winners in my mind. However, only one of the final three could be crowned the Biggest Loser. We'd already seen Daris's new look at the start of the show, but then the Pink Team's Ashley came out looking beautiful in a strapless pink-and-red dress. The White Team's Michael looked strong and so happy in his leather jacket and slim-cut jeans. Michael decided they'd weigh in by order of age, which meant that young Daris would go first. He got on the scale and showed a loss of 168 pounds, 48.55 percent — almost half his body weight. Up next was Ashley, who lost 183 pounds, 48.93 percent, and had gone from 374 pounds down to 191 pounds. Ashley kicked butt, however, the former biggest boy on campus, Michael, still had to lose 257 pounds to win it all. He got on the scale and showed he'd lost half his body weight! He went from 526 to 262 this season — losing 264 pounds, or 50.19 percent! It was close, but Michael was the winner of this season's Biggest Loser! I'm so honored to have helped him make those changes. Congrats to everyone for a fantastic job this season!
Next Week: Don't forget to tune in to my new show, Losing It With Jillian. I'm crisscrossing the country to give eight families the tools to push the reboot button and transform their lives. The show premieres next Tuesday, June 1, at 10 p.m. ET/9 CT, and then it will air at its regular time the following Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/7 CT. Don't miss it!