In an exciting, two-hour live finale on Tuesday, May 25 (8-10 p.m. ET), the winner of NBC's hit series "The Biggest Loser: Couples" will finally be revealed, along with the incredible transformations of all season nine contestants who have collectively lost more than one ton of weight! In the first part of the show, the third finalist – as determined by America's vote – will also be revealed. And last season's heaviest contestant, Shay Sorrells, will weigh in and receive $1,000 from SUBWAY® restaurants for every pound she has lost since her season finale in December, 2009.
All 22 contestants from season nine will return for the finale to weigh in one last time – and show America how much weight they've lost since the beginning of their weight-loss journeys. The transformations will be profound, not just for the finalists, but also for the eliminated contestants who all continued to lose weight after returning home from "The Biggest Loser" ranch.
In the most recent episode that aired on May 18, Ashley Johnston (Knoxville, TN) and Michael Ventrella (Bartlett, IL) weighed in above the yellow line, securing their spots as two of this season's three finalists. Michael, who began the season as the heaviest contestant ever at 526 lbs. and weighed in at 299 lbs. in the May 18 episode, could potentially lose more weight by finale than any other contestant in "Biggest Loser" history.
Contestants Daris George (Ardmore, OK) and Koli Palu (Rohnert Park, CA) fell below the yellow line, leaving America to choose between them to determine the third place finalist competing alongside Ashley and Michael for the $250,000 grand prize. Viewers can vote now through Monday, May 24 at 12:00 p.m. ET by phone (866-492-6801 for Daris or 866-492-6802 for Koli), text (text DARIS or KOLI to 33088 -- $.99 charge per text message vote, plus additional message and data rates may apply) and online at www.nbc.com.
America's choice will be revealed in the first part of the finale on May 25, and the contestant who didn't get chosen will compete with the other 18 eliminated players for an "at home" prize of $100,000. Then it's the moment viewers have been waiting for, when one of the three finalists will be named this season's "Biggest Loser" and win the coveted grand prize of $250,000!
Also, Shay Sorrells, the heaviest contestant from last season, got a once-in-a-lifetime offer from SUBWAY® restaurants during the season eight finale to earn $1,000 for every pound she lost between the season eight and season nine finales. She began her weight loss journey in season eight weighing 476 lbs., and weighed 304 lbs. by her December 2009 finale. Now she's back to weigh in, and SUBWAY® spokesperson Jared Fogle will be on hand to present her with a check -- $1,000 for every pound she has lost since December.
Season three "Biggest Loser" winner Erik Chopin will also be at finale to show what he looks like today. Erik has openly struggled with his weight and gained back much of what he lost, but is now back on track to get healthy again with the help of "The Biggest Loser" Resort at Fitness Ridge in Ivins, Utah.
Season nine of "The Biggest Loser: Couples" highlighted the second year of the Pound For Pound Challenge, a program that encourages Americans to lose weight nationally to provide hunger relief locally. Since the beginning of the season, more than 5.7 million pounds have been pledged. For every pound of weight participants pledge to lose, a pound of groceries will be delivered to a local food bank. People can sign up through June 30 at www.PFPChallenge.com or www.BiggestLoser.com.
During the finale, Pantene will also air a live commercial announcing the winner of their first reality hair star contest. This game-changing ad will air on May 25 during the first-ever live commercial roadblock on Bravo Media, Oxygen Media and NBC.
"The Biggest Loser: Couples" is a production of Reveille LLC, 25/7 Productions and 3Ball Productions. Ben Silverman (NBC's "The Office," "Ugly Betty"), Dave Broome ("A Model Life with Petra Nemcova," "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope"), JD Roth ("Age of Love," "Beauty and the Geek"), Todd A. Nelson ("Unan1mous," "Beauty and the Geek") and Mark Koops ("Breakthrough With Tony Robbins," "Shear Genius") serve as executive producers.
