NBC Photo: Trae Patton"140 pounds! Yes! Yes!" exclaimed Helen Phillips, 48, on tonight's season finale of The Biggest Loser: Couples upon learning how many pounds she lost.
With a 54.47% total weight loss and current weight of 117 pounds, the retired retail manager and mother of two from Sterling Heights, Mich., was named The Biggest Loser, took home the $250,000 prize and came away with a brand new attitude.
"I haven't worn a dress in at least 10 years," she said on tonight's show. "It was just wonderful. I actually feel beautiful today. I haven't felt that in a really long time."
Here's how the finale went down…
It was an emotional night as the contestants and trainers looked back on 20 hard weeks of tears, meltdowns, and lots of yelling (remember when trainer Bob Harper told Joelle Gwynn to "Shut the f@#$ up?!") First up were the results of America's choice for who would be the third contestant to join Helen and Tara Costa in the top three. The two ladies already secured their place in the final three with the previous week's weigh-in. It was down to the father/son team of Ron and Mike Morelli for that coveted third spot.
"I'm freaking out…This is really crazy," said Mike, 18, who was the youngest contestant in the history of the NBC show. Proud papa Ron told the audience that he "really hopes" America picks his son over him, and low and behold, they did. Mike made it to the top three to compete for the title of Biggest Loser and to win the $250,000 grand prize. Ron was left to compete with the other contestants for the at-home prize of $100,000.
Mike said he wasn't so sure he could win against Helen or Tara. Tara was a frontrunner as she won more of the challenges than any other contestant (12!), lost the most amount of weight for a woman and was never below the yellow line. "I don't know, Tara and Helen, they're tough," he said. "So, we'll see." He was half right. He didn't beat Helen, but he did beat Tara and came in second place with Tara finishing third.
The weight loss meant a lot more to Mike than just fitting into a smaller jean size. "I'm changing from a shy timid boy into a man," said Mike, who lost a whopping 207 pounds, which is more than any other contestant, but the winner is based on the percentage lost and with 53.35% he was 1.12% shy of the big win.
As for Tara, who lost 155 pounds and 52.72%, said, "I feel stronger. I feel more self-confident. I feel like I'm worth it now. I've changed inside and out."
One by one, the remaining contestants all weighed in to see who would be the at-home winner. Jerry Hayes, who, at age 64, was the oldest contestant ever on the show, took an early lead with his weight loss of 177 pounds and a 47.97% loss in body weight. Even more important than the weight loss was the fact that Jerry was no longer taking the five medicines he was on. In the end, none of the other contestants could beat the 47.97% loss and Jerry took home the $100,000 prize.
Meanwhile, two new contestants, Erinn and Amanda, competed in the backstage gym with trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper to see which one would win a spot in the next season of the show, which starts production on Monday. America voted and Amanda won herself a spot on season eight. (The consolation prize for Erinn, by the way, was an at-home weight loss program.)
With a total of 2,763 pounds lost this season, everyone came out a winner on tonight's season finale of The Biggest Loser: Couples.
Here is a rundown of how much each of the contestants lost this season.
Contestant/Start Weight/End Weight/Pounds Lost /Percentage Lost:
Helen: 257-117=140 (54.47%)
Mike: 388-181=207 (53.35%)
Tara: 294-139=155 (52.72%)
Jerry: 369-192=177 (47.97%)
Kristin: 360-193=167 (46.39%)
Nicole: 269-146=123 (45.72%)
Ron: 430-238=192 (44.65%)
Sione: 372-226=146 (39.25%)
Dane: 412-258=154 (37.38%)
Filipe: 364-229=135 (37.09%)
Damien: 381-245=136 (35.70%)
Daniel: 454-293=161 (35.46%)
Mandi: 263-171=92 (34.98%)
Estella: 242-159=83 (34.30%)
Carla: 379-251=128 (33.77%)
Shanon: 283-191=92 (32.51%)
Cathy: 293-198=95 (32.42%)
Blaine: 365-249=116 (31.78%)
Laura: 285-199=86 (30.18%)
Joelle: 309-229=80 (25.89%)
Aubrey: 249-194=55 (22.09%)
David: 393-350=43 (10.94%)
Are you happy to see Helen win? Do you think the winner should be chosen on total weight loss or percentage? Check back here tomorrow for an interview with the winner.