‘Jeopardy!’s Mattea Roach Gets Emotional Revealing Their Dad Died While They Were on Set

Jeopardy star Mattea Roach shared a tribute to their father, Phillip, on Tuesday’s episode of the Jeopardy! Masters tournament. Phillip passed away unexpectedly while Roach was away filming the tournament, and they had time to talk about the loss this week. In the episode’s contestant anecdote segment, Roach explained that their favorite piece of clothing is a denim jacket inherited from their father.

“It’s now on permanent loan, unfortunately,” Roach said. “My dad actually passed away at the start of the month very suddenly. He’s a huge part of the reason why I’m here. He and my mom instilled an early love of geography in me. My dad taught me all about Turner classic movies and old music and all sorts of things.”

Our hearts go out to Mattea and their family 💙 pic.twitter.com/8DS9qTrVEL

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) May 24, 2023

Phillip Roach passed away on Tuesday, May 2 at the age of 57. He suffered a brain aneurysm and died at the family home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In addition to the tribute on TV on Tuesday, Roach addressed this loss in a few tweets that evening as well. They confirmed that they were able to get home for the funeral and to grieve with their family. They also revealed that Phillip was able to visit the set and sit in the audience for one filming session early on in the tournament.

“I wanted to acknowledge my dad in the context of tonight’s game firstly [because] he was the subject of the first ever contestant anecdote I ever told on Jeopardy. My thought had been that if I only ever got 30 seconds of time to talk on the show, I wanted it to be about him,” Roach wrote. They later added: “I was at the set of Jeopardy when my dad died. Short of being at home with family, I cannot imagine a better place to be when receiving such horrific news. My fellow contestants were beyond supportive in the moment, and so many people on the production side of things moved mountains to make sure I could get home to my family and then come back later in the month to finish out the competition.”

🧵(2/8) I wanted to acknowledge my dad in the context of tonight’s game firstly bc he was the subject of the first ever contestant anecdote I ever told on Jeopardy. My thought had been that if I only ever got 30 seconds of time to talk on the show, I wanted it to be about him

— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) May 23, 2023

Roach concluded by saying that they would not make any more public comments on their father’s death and asking fans and the press for privacy during this time. At 24 years old, Roach is one of the youngest stars on the scene and is competing with five of the strongest players in the game. They qualified for the Jeopardy! Masters final round on Wednesday, May 24 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. They will compete against James Holzhauer and Matt Amodio for a predetermined prize of $500,000 and the “Trebek Trophy.”