He may not have got his fairytale romance, but Steven Pliatsikas wouldn't change anything about his time on the Bachelorette Australia.
The Cronulla resident was eliminated from the mansion after several weeks in contention for Bachelorette Brooke Blurton's affection.
Even though he didn't emerge with Blurton's heart, Pliatsikas has only positive memories of his reality TV experience.
"The main word that comes to mind is 'fun'," the 29-year-old said.
"The group dates and activities, everything was just an amazing experience.
"I've got pretty much nothing but good things to say about the whole thing.
"It wasn't my love story or fairytale, but it was someone's: Brooke's."
Pliatsakis particularly enjoyed taking part in a colourful Mardi Gras-inspired group date and was moved to see how much the activity meant to the female contingent on the Bachelorette.
The podiatrist had had a crush on Blurton since seeing her as a contestant on Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins' season of the Bachelor.
He said she had exceeded all his expectations as a person, but they just didn't have a spark beyond friendship.
"Brooke and I hit it off at a basic, surface level, and it was pretty obvious that that was all she wanted it to be," Pliatsakis said.
"We had that friendly interaction and that was totally fine - we clicked on that level. I luckily made some other really good friends too."
A few people have recognised Pliatsakis since his time in the Bachelorette mansion, which he said had been a "very, very weird feeling".
"I'm a bit more of an introvert and shy, so I don't know what to do with myself in that situation," he said.
"But everyone has been very friendly. I guess I've been quite well received.
"[My friends and family] were all pretty happy that I didn't make an idiot of myself or say anything dumb."
While Pliatsakis still hopes to find his fairytale romance somewhere down the road, he has encouraged anyone else thinking about trying their luck on the Bachelorette to give it a go.
"I'd recommend it, it was a good thing to be a part of and a great experience," he said.
"The positives far outweigh any minor negatives - the only one I can think of is some long days of filming. I think it's just an awesome production."
As for who will capture Blurton's heart?
Pliatsakis thinks there's four main contenders.
"There's a few there that could definitely go all the way," he said.
"She's formed some strong connections with a lot of people. But mainly I think Holly, [St George's] Jamie Lee, Konrad or Darvid are the ones Brooke seems to have connected with the most."
