By JARED PURCELL

You Editor

Kristine LeMieux has recently gone through a life-changing experience that is quite a big deal.

LeMieux, a junior at Oakland University, won $238,000 on the popular primetime game show “Deal or No Deal.”  

As one can imagine, the 24-year-old communications major doesn’t have to worry much about new tuition increases anymore.  Yet some of her friends — including her Gama Phi Beta sisters — may want some help with their student loans.

“Obviously I’m not going to pay their student loans,” said LeMieux, laughing.  “I didn’t win $238 million.”

The Game

The episode that aired on Feb. 7 was not the ordinary “Deal or No Deal” that viewers are accustomed to. It was a winner takes all episode as LeMieux, a St. Claire Shores native, went up against another contestant to see who takes the highest deal.

Neither contestant knew how much money their opponent won until the end of the show and they revealed their respective totals. LeMieux’s $121,000 edged out her opponent’s $117,000 deal, winning her the sum of both deals.

To top off the experience, LeMieux got engaged the night before the show aired and announced it the next night in the company of friends and family.

Road to the ‘Deal’

So how did this fairytale begin?

The whole process began on May 5, 2007 when LeMieux woke up at 3 a.m. to drag herself into the shower in order to make it to the show’s audition in Southfield.

“I was about to get ready and in the shower and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m so tired,'” said LeMieux. “Then I ended up thinking I had a feeling I’d get [on the show].”

When she arrived, she faced a line that could rival the DMV on a slow day.

“I went and waited in line for 11 hours,” said LeMieux. “And once we got to actually see the casting people, all we got to do was talk about ourselves for 30 seconds.”

Luckily for LeMieux, the 30 seconds was enough to earn her another interview that lasted a minute.

The Big Secret

Now imagine winning a huge some of money and not being able to say a single word about it to anyone for nearly an entire month. That is what LeMieux had to endure after the taping of the show until the show aired.

“It was crazy,” said LeMieux.  “Everyone was just trying to ask me questions to get around it. If I went out to the bars, people would try and buy me drinks to try and get me to talk about it.”

LeMieux’s mother, Bridget LeMieux was one of the trio of people who joined Kristen as voices of support and advice on the show. Along with her mother, LeMieux brought her now fiancé, Dave Tremberth, and her aunt, Felicia Barlow. The three were held to the same standards of secrecy as LeMieux. Bridget couldn’t even tell her own husband.

“We signed a contract saying that we could be sued a million dollars if we told anyone,” said Bridget. “At first it was really hard because we were so excited. We wanted to call people and tell them right after.”

Barlow would try and mask the secret by giving vague remarks.

“I told them ‘it was an honor just to be picked’ and ‘I don’t like how they played that game,'” Barlow said.

A Bright Future

Even though LeMieux might have to wait until May to recieve her winnings, she hasn’t let that stop her from making big plans. The first thing that came to LeMieux’s mind when asked what she wants to do with the money may be a bit surprising.

“I want to go on a Kentucky houseboat trip,” said Lemieux. “I’ve always really wanted to go on one.”

After her wedding in October, LeMieux will be heading off to Fiji for the honeymoon and then hopes to build a house with her husband on Lake St. Clair.

Still, she is not going to squander her winnings as she plans on investing a lot of the money and meeting with a financial advisor.

“I definitely want to invest a lot of it,” said LeMieux. “Not many people my age have the opportunity to get a lump-sum of money like that.”

However, LeMieux does plan on having a little fun with her winnings.

“I want to obviously go shopping,” said LeMieux with authority.

She also plans on spending some money on her mother and aunt. Immediately after winning the money and leaving the studio, LeMieux made sure to buy her opponent a drink. After all, she did take his $117,000 deal.

“I was hoping he didn’t want to kill me,” said LeMieux jokingly. “But he was a really good sport.”

As can be imagined, LeMieux is occasionally recognized on the street by strangers who saw her on the show.  Some of them approach with some rather unorthodox requests.

“There was this girl that found me on Myspace,” said LeMieux.  “She e-mailed me and asked me for my shoes that I wore on the show.” The stranger offered her $100 for the shoes. “Isn’t that the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard?”

LeMieux’s short visit to the primetime spotlight was enough to change her life and a few others.

“Now that I’ve been on the show, everyone’s calling me ‘Aunt Fifi,'” said Barlow, refrencing the nickname that LeMieux referred to her as on the show.

“It was a great experience,” said Bridget. “They treated us like movie stars.”

When LeMieux finally gets the money, a world of opportunity will open for her.

“I was blessed to get that much money,” said LeMieux.