Double the win! Roberto Hernandez, the season 17 winner of The Biggest Loser, spoke to Us Weekly exclusively after he and his twin brother, Luis Hernandez, won during the shocking finale on Monday, February 22.
“I can’t really believe it right now,” Roberto gushed to Us at CBS Studios in Studio City, California. “God has sent us little hints throughout the whole journey and I believed it . . . It’s exciting and we’re thrilled and we can’t wait to start this new healthy life.”
Before the last weigh-in during Monday’s finale, audience members witnessed the Hernandez twins reciting a prayer together. “We did that before every weigh-in, before every challenge, before everything and it’s amazing,” Roberto told Us. “I couldn’t have started this journey without that prayer from God.”
Roberto dropped the most weight, 160 pounds, and nabbed the $250,000 prize, while his brother Luis took home $100,000 after shedding the largest percentage of weight. It’s the first time twins have ever won on the show. Trailing the brothers was Colby Wright, who took the final temptation and decided to go home with $50,000.
But the cash prize is the last thing on Roberto’s mind. “I’ve constantly said I never, ever did this for the money. That wasn’t the intention, because that’s just greed,” the Chicago physical education teacher explained. “I’m here to lose weight. I was here to get healthy. I was here to live long and have a great life with my wife and kids — and that’s what I intend to do.”
Both brothers were trained by Jennifer Widerstrom, who also opened up to Us Weekly on Monday night about producing two winners.
“They’re so great but I’m like, ‘It’s too good to be true for them both to win,'” Widerstrom told Us. “These men chose a different direction. They chose to be willing to be vulnerable. They chose to be willing to give themselves a shot, and that’s why I love doing this show, because it shows America that it’s possible. That’s what I love about it. And I mean it, these guys turned a mirror on me. They showed me what it is to struggle, that it’s OK when I struggle, there are times that I don’t want to get up. I share the journey and the battle, and we made a pact. They’re like, I won’t quit if you won’t quit — we’re in this for life together.”
Indeed, Roberto said he and Luis will continue to lead active and healthy lifestyles. “By keeping our promise to our kids, to America, #GetOffTheCouchAmerica,” Roberto concluded to Us. “I want people to start getting healthy. If by me starting a journey like this has inspired somebody, then great!
