The piano teacher and church organist from Spring Hill, Tennessee, had previously spoken about overcoming her battle with breast cancer when she appeared in her debut episode of the hugely popular quiz show last Wednesday.
And on Monday, Whelchel revealed that her recovery process was the reason behind the look that she unveiled to viewers for the first time.
“If you watched last week, you might notice that Christine looks a little different today,” Jennings said, before prompting Whelchel to explain her look.
“After the winnings, I decided that I didn’t need to hide behind a wig anymore, and I wanted to normalize what cancer recovery looks like,” she said.
“Well, you look fabulous,” Jennings responded as the audience broke into applause. “Congratulations on your recovery and on your success on Jeopardy! so far.”
A clip of the heartwarming conversation was shared on the verified Jeopardy! Twitter account, alongside the caption: “A strong Jeopardy! player and an even stronger person.”
Last week, Whelchel revealed that she went through the Jeopardy! audition process in 2021 while going through cancer treatment.
She said: “I was diagnosed in March of 2021, and one of the first things I did a couple of weeks after being diagnosed was take the Jeopardy! test. And I ended up getting my audition the night before my surgery in May.”
“Well, evidently the audition went well,” said Jennings in response. “You’re here. And I hope the surgery [went well] too.”
“Everything else went well and I’m cancer-free as of right now,” Whelchel said.
Whelchel’s win on Monday made her the first contestant in more than 20 games to achieve more than three consecutive victories since the January departure of 40-time champ Amy Schneider.
Ahead of the game, Jennings, who is the most successful Jeopardy! contestant of all time with 74 wins, made note of how the success of the super champs this season has compared with the more modest streaks in recent weeks.
He said: “A lot has been written about the super streaks we’ve seen in Season 38, but ever since our 40-day champion Amy Schneider lost 23 games ago, it’s been a very different story.
“In that time we’ve had seven contestants win a single game, two win a couple each, and four contestants, including our returning champion Christine Whelchel, have won three in a row.”
Among the contestants with notable streaks over the past year was Matt Amodio, who racked up 38 wins between seasons 37 and 38. His total saw him climb up the Jeopardy! ladder to second place in all-time win streaks.
Schneider made her debut on the show one month after Amodio’s eventual October defeat. She went on to become the most successful woman in the show’s entire history. The Ohio native was also the first transgender woman to qualify for Tournament of Champions.
Whelchel will be seen vying for her fifth consecutive Jeopardy! win during Tuesday night’s installment of the syndicated quiz show.
