'Wheel of Fortune': Vanna White Joked Her Heels Worked 'Harder' Than Pat Sajak

With her current contract battle behind-the-scenes, White shows why she's important to the series' legacy.

By Andrew Roberts

Vanna White's Wheel of Fortune career might be coming to an end, with backstage negotiations happening in the wake of Pat Sajak's retirement announcement. But it wasn't always shadowy bits away from the media spotlight to hit White in recent years. 

A few years back, White became a potential candidate to host due to her first hosting stint on Wheel of Fortune. The longtime letter turner, model and TV personality stepped up to host the game show after host Pat Sajak was forced to have emergency surgery. While her first run spinning the wheel and running the show was rough according to some fans, she stuck with it and has done her best to keep the true feel of the show intact.

That said, don't think White sees herself as any less than Sajak because she doesn't host the show regularly. Sajak and White are viewed as a team and the longtime personality agrees according to a chat with Esquire at the time.

"I don't think of it; I think of it as taking one for the team. I don't feel like my job at the board is any lower than Pat's job at the wheel. You know what I mean?" White told the outlet. "I think we're both equal and people have said, 'Well, what do you think about more women hosting shows?' It's like, hey, if you want to host a show go for it. I'm not, 'Woohoo, I'm hosting the show now, I'm in charge.'"

As White says, she sees herself as just part of the show along with Sajak, with no real difference between them.

"I'm not any better than anybody else. I mean, yes I am running the show, which is kind of scary. But I don't think of it as being empowered, in a way," White said. "I think I'm equal to everybody. We have 150 staff and crew. It's not just me up there. There's 150 of us that put the whole show together. So we all have our roles to play."

That said, White did joke with Esquire that there is a part of her that places her ahead of Sajak on the set of Wheel of Fortune. It all comes out when Esquire brings up her career in heels.

"That's true! My position is much more, what's the word? I work a lot harder. I've walked thousands of miles. And he didn't have to do that. In my heels, no less," White joked.

White made it very clear at the time that she has no intention of ever taking Sajak's spot. That fact might have shifted a bit due to Sajak's impending retirement and White's own contract negotiations behind the scenes, but her words at the time felt genuine.

"No. I like my puzzle board, I want to stay at my puzzle board," White told Esquire back while guest hosting. "And there's no competition either. It's Pat's job, and I'm filling in for him. I'm not looking to take his position."

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