Today's Final Jeopardy! includes a heartfelt moment with Alex and another win for Emma! #TournamentOfChampions pic.twitter.com/qWnKFUKL2U
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 12, 2019
The end of "Jeopardy!" got unexpectedly emotional on Monday night.
Host Alex Trebek, who recently revealed that he has resumed chemotherapy for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, turned to contestant Dhruv Gaur for the final "Jeopardy!" answer. The category was "Famous Phrases" and the clue was, "In the title of a groundbreaking 1890 exposé of poverty in New York City slums, these three words follow 'How the.' "
Gaur revealed his response, which included a drawing of a heart: "What is: we love you, Alex!"
That part wasn't surprising: The much-loved Trebek is one of the most revered game show hosts of all time. But his reaction was, as the typically stoic host became emotional as he read the message.
PHOTO GALLERY: See photos of Alex Trebek through the years in a gallery at the end of this story
"That's very kind. Thank you," Trebek said, and there was an audible reaction from the studio audience. Trebek became so choked up he struggled to get out his next words. "Cost you $1,995. You're left with five."
He composed himself and moved on to the other two contestants, Kyle Jones and Emma Boettcher, both of whom guessed the correct answer: "What is 'other half lives.' " But the moment quickly started making the rounds on social media, as "We love you Alex" began trending on Twitter.
"Jeopardy!" fans have been rallying around Trebek, 79, since he disclosed his diagnosis in March. "I plan to beat the low survival-rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to. Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host 'Jeopardy!' for three more years," said Trebek, who started hosting the show in 1984.
In August, Trebek announced that his treatments had ended and that he would return to host the 36th season, which started airing in September. But several weeks later, he updated viewers to say that after doctors found his "numbers went sky-high," he was resuming chemotherapy treatment.
During an interview with CTV last month, Trebek assured fans that he would keep hosting "Jeopardy!" as long as possible, and also spoke candidly about his diagnosis.
"I'm not afraid of dying," Trebek said. "I've lived a good life, a full life, and I'm nearing the end of that life. ... If it happens, why should I be afraid that?"
PHOTOS: ALEX TREBEK THROUGH THE YEARS
The life and career of the longtime 'Jeopardy' host:
-- HIDE VERTICAL GALLERY ASSET TITLES --
TREBEK

Alex Trebek, is shown in this 1988 photo. (AP Photo)
Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek is the host of TV game shows ?Jeopardy? and ?Concentration?. He was photographed in his home on Mullholland Dr. in Los Angeles on July 7, 1988. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Alex Trebek

Game show host Alex Trebek, photographed in his Los Angeles home on August 3, 1988, has been with ?Jeopardy? for four years and ?Concentration? for one. He says his real ambition is to get into production. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Trebek Geography Bee

Anders Knospe, 14, of Bozeman, Mont., center, poses with Geography Bee moderator Alex Trebek, left, and National Geographic president and chairman Gilbert Grosvenor after winning the sixth annual National Geography Bee, May 25, 1994, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Shayna Brennan)
Trebek Geography Bee

Alex Trebek, moderator of the National Geography Bee poses with Michael Ring of Milford, Mass., and his check for $15,000 after Ring finished second in the Bee in Washington, D.C., May 26, 1993. (AP Photo/Shayna Brennan)
Alex Trebek Cancer

FILE - In this May 17, 1999 file photo, Emmy award-winning game show host Alex Trebek celebrates his newly-dedicated star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Canadian "Jeopardy!" host Trebek announced he's been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in a YouTube video on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, that had a positive tone despite the grim prognosis. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek is the host of TV game shows ?Jeopardy? and ?Concentration?. He was photographed in his home on Mullholland Dr. in Los Angeles on July 7, 1988. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
KING TREBEK

Quiz show host Alex Trebek, left, talks with boxing promoter Don King at the National Association of Television Program Executives convention in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan 26, 2000. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni)
Trebek

Actor Leslie Nielsen, right, chats with Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2003, at the Canadian consul general's residence in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) celebrated its 60th anniversary and presented its "Award of Excellence" to Nielsen at the Canadian residence. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)
TREBEK MATHEWS

Alex Trebek, right, and the 38th Pillsbury Quick & Easy Bake-Off winner Ellie Mathews of Seattle, raise their hands in victory Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1998, in Orlando, Fla. Trebek hosted the live television show where Mathews was named the winner of the $1 million grand prize for the best recipe cooking competition. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey)
Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek accepts the award for outstanding game show host, for his work on "Jeopardy!" at the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Friday, April 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
ALEX TREBEK, KATHRYN ERBE

Show host Alex Trebek talks with actress Kathryn Erbe of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" prior to taking part in a taping of "Celebrity Jeopardy!" to celebrate the 5000th episode of "Jeopardy!" at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006, in New York City. "Celebrity Jeopardy!" will showcase 30 stars competing for $1,000,000 dollars for charity. (AP Photo/Paul Hawthorne)
Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek, host of the TV gameshow "Jeopardy!", arrives at funeral services for Merv Griffin at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, Calif., Friday, Aug. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Fred Prouser, Pool)
Alex Trebek, Harry Friedman, Vanna White, Pat Sajak

FILE - this Oct. 22, 2007 file photo shows game show host Alex Trebek at the 17th annual Broacasting and Cable Hall of Fame awards dinner in New York. Trebek remains in a Los Angeles hospital recovering from a mild heart attack. But Sony Pictures Television spokeswoman Paula Askanas said Monday, June 25, 2012 that Trebek is "up and about and in good spirits" while doctors complete their tests. He has been moved to a regular room, she said. The 71-year-old Trebek was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)
TREBEK BORSCHOW BEIHL

Jason Borschow of San Juan, P.R., left, reacts after missing a question during the 1999 National Geography Bee, Wednesday, May 26, 1999 at the National Geographic Society in Washington. Host Alex Trebek is at center and eventual winner David Beihl of Saluda, S.C. is at right. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Pat Sajak, Alex Trebek

Television personality Pat Sajak, left, and, television personality Alex Trebek pose together with their awards in the press room at the 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Sajak and Trebek both received Lifetime Achievement Awards. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
Alex Trebek

FILE - In a May 21, 2012, file photo, honoree Alex Trebek, host of the game show "Jeopardy" holds a 71st Annual Peabody Awards in New York. Trebek received a Peabody Award for electronic media, as "Jeopardy!," joined other awardees including serious documentaries, edgy comedies and high-toned dramas. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
Leeza Gibbons, Alex Trebek

Leeza Gibbons, left, and Alex Trebek present the award for outstanding entertainment news program at the 42nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on Sunday, April 26, 2015, in Burbank, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek, host Jeopardy addresses bloggers at NASA Social media event at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on Aug. 12, 2012, hours before the Mars rover Curiosity is due to land on the surface of Mars. The most high-tech rover NASA has ever designed was speeding toward Mars on Sunday to attempt an acrobatic landing on the planet's surface. The Curiosity rover was poised to hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at 13,000 mph. If all goes according to script, it will be slowly lowered into a massive crater by cables in the final few seconds. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek attends the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at Rockefeller Plaza on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Alex Trebek, Florence Henderson

Alex Trebek, left, and Florence Henderson arrive at the 2015 Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards at The Universal Hilton on Friday, April 24, 2015, in Universal City, Calif. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
44th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards - Show

Alex Trebek speaks on stage at the 44th annual Daytime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Center on Sunday, April 30, 2017, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Awards - Las Vegas

Alex Trebek at the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Awards at the Encore Wynn Hotel on Monday, April 9, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Robb Cohen/Invision/AP)
NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Awards - Las Vegas

Alex Trebek inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame at the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Awards at the Encore Wynn Hotel on Monday, April 9, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Robb Cohen/Invision/AP)
NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Awards - Las Vegas

Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak, Vanna White and Harry Friedman at the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame Awards at the Encore Wynn Hotel on Monday, April 9, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Robb Cohen/Invision/AP)
Election 2018 Pennsylvania Governor

In this Oct. 1, 2018, photo, moderator Alex Trebek speaks during a gubernatorial debate between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican Scott Wagner in Hershey, Pa. Jeopardy!" host Trebek says he has been diagnosed with advanced -four pancreatic cancer. In a video posted online Wednesday, March 6, 2019, Trebek said he was announcing his illness directly to "Jeopardy!" fans in keeping with his long-time policy of being "open and transparent." (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Alex Trebek Cancer

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2018 file photo, moderator Alex Trebek speaks during a gubernatorial debate between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican Scott Wagner in Hershey, Pa. Canadian "Jeopardy!" host Trebek announced he's been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in a YouTube video on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, that had a positive tone despite the grim prognosis. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Alex Trebek Cancer

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2011 file photo, Alex Trebek, host of the "Jeopardy!" quiz show, speaks to an audience of primarily media about an upcoming "Jeopardy!" show featuring an IBM computer called "Watson" in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Canadian "Jeopardy!" host Trebek has announced that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. In a note and video released Wednesday, March 6, 2019, the long-time game show host said he plans to fight the diagnosis, joking that he still has several years left on his contract. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards - Show

Alex Trebek accepts the award for outstanding game show host for "Jeopardy!" at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Center on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards - Press Room

Alex Trebek poses in the press room with the award for outstanding game show host for "Jeopardy!" at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Center on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Welcome to the discussion.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.