'The Biggest Loser: Couples' crowns Olivia Ward new champion

The Biggest Loser: Couples crowned Olivia Ward its champion during Tuesday night's live finale broadcast of the NBC reality weight-loss competition.
 
The 35-year-old opera singer and plastic surgery office manager from New York, NY, began the competition at 261 pounds and weighed-in at 132 pounds during the finale, giving her a 129-pound weight-loss and 49.42% weight-loss percentage that won her the show's $250,000 grand prize.


"It's just unbelievable. I wouldn't have rathered done this with anybody else. It is me and you, day one -- today, and we are never going back there again... When I look at Hannah, I see a champion -- the champion I always knew was inside her -- and now, she believes it again, and to me, that is worth everything. Everything," Olivia told her sister Hannah Curlee before she weighed-in.
 
Hannah, a 32-year-old human resources representative from Nashville, TN, whose starting weight was 248 pounds, finished as the runner-up. She weighed-in at 128 pounds, shedding 120 pounds for a 48.39% weight-loss percentage.  

Irene Alvarado, a 26-year-old student from Portland, OR -- who lost the highest percentage of weight loss of all the contestants this season on The Biggest Loser ranch -- began the competition weighing 255 pounds, and she finished in third place after she dropped down to 139 pounds.   

Irene became the season's third finalist by defeating Jay Jacobs, a 53-year-old entrepreneur from West Orange, NJ, by a home viewer vote that took place after last week's The Biggest Loser: Couples penultimate episode. She lost 116 pounds for a 45.49% weight-loss percentage.

It was the first time in The Biggest Loser history three female contestants ever competed against each other for the grand prize in a season's live finale.


Jay, who started off the competition weighing 400 pounds, dropped to 219 pounds and lost 181 pounds total.  

Denise "Deni" Hill, a 59-year-old administrative assistant from Bountiful, UT, won the weigh-in of The Biggest Loser's previously eliminated eleventh-season contestants.

Deni started off the competition weighing 256 pounds. She lost a total of 125 pounds and weighed-in at only 131 pounds, posting a 48.83% weight-loss percentage.

Also in the finale broadcast, veteran trainer Jillian Michaels said her goodbyes because she will not be returning to The Biggest Loser next season, and The Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney announced pro-tennis player Anna Kournikova will be teaming up with veteran trainer Bob Harper to train the upcoming season's contestants. 

The start and finish weights and final weight-loss percentages of the other previously eliminated contestants are as follows.


Ana Alvarado, a 50-year-old USPS letter carrier from Portland, OR, whose starting weight was 255 pounds, shed 109 pounds. She dropped to 146 pounds, posting a 42.75% weight-loss percentage.

Courtney Crozier, a 22-year-old student and restaurant manager from Valparaiso, IN, whose starting weight was 323 pounds, slimmed down to 213, losing 110 pounds for a 34.06% weight-loss percentage. Marci Crozier, a 49-year-old health club manager and restaurant owner from Valparaiso, IN, whose starting weight was 238 pounds, shed 86 pounds, dropping to 152 and posting a 36.13% weight-loss percentage.

Dan Evans, a 54-year-old police captain from Oklahoma City, OK, whose starting weight was 287 pounds, lost 124 pounds and slimmed down to a weight of 163 for a 43.21% weight-loss percentage, while Don Evans, a 54-year-old police lieutenant from Oklahoma City, OK, started off the competition weighing 309 pounds. He fell to 179 after losing 130 pounds, posting a 42.07% weight-loss percentage.

Jaquin "Q" Allen, a 27-year-old patient services representative from Columbia, SC, whose starting weight was 437 pounds, fell to 344 pounds and shed 93 pounds for a 22.48% weight-loss percentage, while Larialmy Allen, a 26-year-old student services program coordinator from Columbia, SC, started off the competition weighing 301 pounds, lost 84 pounds and dropped to 217 for a 27.91% weight-loss percentage.

Moses Kinikini, a 47-year-old garage door installer from Shelley, ID, whose starting weight was 440 pounds, slimmed down to 287 after he lost 153 pounds. He posted a 34.77% weight-loss percentage, while Kaylee Kinikini, a 20-year-old student from Shelley, ID, started off the competition weighing 233 pounds and fell to 179 pounds after she lost 54 pounds for a 23.18% weight-loss percentage.


Ken Andrews, a 49-year-old pastor from Pasadena, CA, whose starting weight was 377 pounds, dropped down to 219, losing 158 pounds and posting a 41.91% weight-loss percentage. Austin Andrews, a 21-year-old radio board operator from Pasadena, CA, started off the competition weighing 396 pounds but fell to 222 after he lost 174 pounds and posted a 43.94% weight-loss percentage.

Sarah Nitta, a 27-year-old college admissions counselor from Las Vegas, NV, lost a total of 106 pounds after starting the competition at 261 pounds and dropping to 155. Her loss gave her a 40.61% weight-loss percentage.

Arthur Wornum, a 34-year-old stay-at-home-dad and day care provider from Portland, OR, and the heaviest contestant ever to have competed on The Biggest Loser, lost 163 pounds. His starting weight was 507 pounds but he dropped down to 344 pounds and posted a 32.15% weight-loss percentage. Jesse Wornum, a 61-year-old insurance agent from Portland, OR, fell from 293 to 210 pounds, losing 83 pounds total and posting a 28.33% weight-loss percentage.

Justin Pope, a 39-year-old business owner, city worker and bounty hunter from Logan, UT, whose starting weight was 365 pounds, shed 173 pounds after he fell to 192 pounds and posted a 47.40% weight-loss percentage, while Jennifer Jacobs, a 28-year-old digital media entrepreneur from Long Branch, NJ, lost 114 pounds and posted a 41.01%. She started off the competition weighing 278 pounds and dropped down to 164 pounds.

Rulon Gardner -- who suddenly quit The Biggest Loser for personal reasons he declined to disclose in an episode that aired in late April -- did not participate in the finale.  Last month, NBC had confirmed Gardner was not eligible to compete in the consolation weigh-in and told Reality TV World his attendance in the finale had yet to be decided.


"It has yet to be determined if he will attend the finale," a network spokesperson told Reality TV World.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski