If you grew up watching “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” you likely dreamed of being in Wonka’s world – a world made of chocolate where everything is edible and nothing seems off limits.
Based on the hit movie, a 9-episode reality show on Netflix, “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket,” had 24 contestants living in Wonka’s world and competing in crazy challenges for a $3 million prize. Contestants joined in pairs, but throughout the competition, many ended up competing solo, including the winner, Gabrielle Wright.
Gabrielle’s partner, Sasha Brenden, sat down with The Blast to chat exclusively about the experience, what it was like filming for a month in a literal Wonka wonderland, what it was that got her sent home, and the amazing advantage Gabrielle and Sasha had partnering up for the show.
‘Wonka’s The Golden Ticket’ Contestant Sasha Brenden Reveals The Advantage She Had In The Competition
Gabrielle and Sasha have been friends for 21 years, possibly giving them a slight advantage over the other contestants.
“I think it helped to go in with my best friend Gabby,” Sasha told The Blast exclusively. “I’m very social. I read people, I socialize, and Gabby is the more observant one. So together, we balance each other out perfectly.”
Sasha further explained, “We had the biggest advantage because we complemented each other perfectly.”
Sasha said she felt they were the “strongest pair” because she’s “outgoing and loves to meet people and learn their stories, while Gabby is more analytical.”
“Together, we kind of were able to read the entire room,” she added.
Sasha Brenden Shares Insight Into Why No One Could Prepare For The Show’s Twisted Games
In typical Wonka fashion, nothing was predictable. Contestants really didn’t have a chance to strategize or prepare ahead of time and had no idea what each day on the show would bring them.
“Everything in the game was so unpredictable because these games were just so bizarre that you couldn’t even think of having a strategy that you could play in this game,” Sasha said. “For example, we went into a game called the ‘Wheel of Misfortunes,’ and the night before, Wonka had given me a plate of food called the ‘One Percent Club.’ So in my head, the next game was going to be something about math, something that we’re going to have to have numbers and percentages.”
So Sasha spent the night before studying with fellow contestant, Austin, because of his science engineering background.
“I had him teach me everything to do with math and percentages, so I went into that game ready to play a math game and it was completely different,” she continued. “It had nothing to do with math.”
Sasha shared that all the challenges were “whimsical and twisted,” making it impossible to prepare for any of it.
“I’m very competitive and very strategic, but you couldn’t prepare for these games,” she said. “You could, but next thing you knew, everything you kind of thought about never came to play. Everybody was on the same level playing field, but I also think you had to have a very good social strategy to it as well. Because the games were so up in the air, you never knew who was going to have the power to just eliminate somebody on the spot, so you kind of never wanted to be on anyone’s bad side.”
From Applying For The Show To Actually Filming
Sasha’s friend and show partner Gabrielle actually found the ad for the show first and applied before encouraging Sasha to do the same because you had to have a partner.
The first part of the application was questions about who you are, where you’re from, and more. After that, there was a Zoom interview. Sasha ended up having three Zoom interviews before finding out she’s getting on a flight to Australia to shoot the show.
“It was very last minute. Honestly, they didn’t tell us until a week before that we were flying out to Australia,” she said. “It was actually crazy because we ended up later on, after we filmed, running into some random guy on the street who said he actually applied for ‘The Golden Ticket’ and there were 24 additional contestants that were backups for everybody. So not only were there 24 of us, there was another batch of 24 backups.”
Filming the show took about a month. They all did a week of PR-type activities, such as photos and interviews, before entering the factory to film for about three weeks.
‘The Factory Was Exactly Like The Movie’
Stepping foot into the chocolate factory sounds like a dream come true, and Sasha said it actually was!
“The factory was exactly like the movie. The door to the elevator opened up, and we were in the chocolate factory,” she said. “Everything was edible – from the grass to the trees to the floor. That just brought you right into the movie. It was a surreal feeling because you jumped into the movie, but you are also now in one of the wildest, most creative competitions that I’ve ever seen in my life.”
She added, “When Wonka said, ‘Now indulge in everything,’ we were; I was running everywhere.”
For all but one contestant, there was a dramatic and disappointing ending. Sasha’s ending was a “tough” one for her.
“I did miss a spinning oompa loompa head. I had to make it into the mouth of the spinning oompa loompa head but it was a tough moment,” she shared. “The game was just built to surprise you, so the tools that you think you had, they never came to play when you think they did. So I just missed a spinning oompa loompa head, and it’s crazy to say that out loud.”
What’s Next For Sasha Now That ‘Wonka’ Is Done?
Now that the reality show is in the rearview for Sasha, she’s back to real life (where there isn’t unlimited amounts of chocolate everywhere). She is focusing on her business, The Beach Bellas, and looking forward to other future projects.
“I launched Beach Bellas back in 2024 when I graduated Pepperdine. I design chic fans and sun parasols. I do a lot of collaborations in California and Vegas, slowing reaching out to New York and overseas. I do collaborations for weddings, venues, beach clubs. It’s just a fun way to bring my creative side to life,” she told The Blast. “Everybody loves the designs because I make sure I have a diverse amount of designs that relate to every single person.”
As for what’s next for her, she simply said, “a lot.” Her company is coming out with a holiday collection, and she’s also working full time on the board of the Brenden Mann Foundation. She’s also hoping to get more TV and commercial opportunities come her way.
For more information on The Beach Bellas, visit the website. And just for our readers: Sasha wanted to give readers of The Blast an exclusive offer – a 2-for-1 deal on her LE JUNGLE acacia/bamboo beach umbrella. Use promo code THEBLAST.
“Wonka’s The Golden Ticket” is currently streaming on Netflix.
