Looking back at his time on Survivor, Paulie described it as “the biggest journey” he had ever been through in his life.

“From the highest highs to the lowest lows, it was just such a dramatic, theatrical experience which is really fitting because I feel like I’m quite a dramatic and theatrical person in life so it was a really honest portrayal of how my life is,” he told 10 Play with a laugh.

Coming into the game as a fan, Paulie knew he’d rely on his social skills and natural ability to form connections with people quickly, an ability he honed through his work as a paramedic.

And in the early stages of the game, his strategy was working for him. His relationships with the OG Brawn tribe were so strong that, when it came to AJ’s ’take hostages’ plan, they were willing to throw challenges to protect Paulie and Noonan.

“When we got to the tribe swap, AJ recognised me as a massive threat from the get-go,” Paulie explained. “He saw my social skills, my ability to connect with people quickly, and saw I was a challenge threat. So the only thing he could do to beat me was to take away my power.

“AJ and Kristin were fanning this narrative of me being untrustworthy, snakey, because that was the only thing they could do to bring me down,” Paulie continued. “And it worked! I became an easy target for everybody.

“Nobody wants to work with someone who has a reputation of being untrustworthy… I didn’t do anything specifically that was super snakey or manipulative but they kept saying it and saying it, and eventually people started to believe it,” he said.

Paulie said that the combination of being hungry, tired, exhausted from battling the elements, and with the heightened paranoia it was easy for his fellow players to believe what they were being told rather than fighting for the truth. Unfortunately, it also meant he was forced to play most of the second half of the game from the bottom.

“It was the hardest thing I have ever dealt with,” he said.

There was a brief glimmer of hope when Myles used an advantage to steal Kristin’s immunity idol and use it on Paulie’s behalf. “I thought, this is the moment where my game is about to change, I’m going to be seen as a valuable player, I’ll be involved in conversations… I saw this as a new lease on life,” he said.

But the glimmer faded almost instantly when Jonathan LaPaglia revealed a twist that would split the tribe between the Barren and Bounty beaches. Paulie was the immediate first choice by everyone – including Myles – to go to Barren Beach.

“It was a total betrayal. I was given this glimmer of hope and it was all taken away from me, I had to spend the next 36 hours with these people who I felt, at the time, really disliked me and didn’t want me around, and that was evident in the way they were playing the game.

“I had to suffer with that,” he continued, “suffer on the barren ribe with the weather and no food. It was just the most isolating and lonely experience that I have ever been through and I hadn’t felt like that in a really long time.”

After surviving his time on Barren Beach, Paulie knew his time in the game came down to the immunity challenge. And whoever won individual immunity would also win for their four beach buddies – be in Barren or Bounty. Hanging on for his life in the game, Paulie was the last remaining member of Barren to be holding on.

“I learned how resilient I am,” he revealed. “Even though my name kept coming out of the urn I took it on the chin… they pushed me down but I kept getting back up and I kept fighting to the very last moment.

“Every single person on that Barren tribe stepped down willingly… I just couldn’t let go. I couldn’t give up no matter what,” Paulie said. “I only came down because I fell off. To learn that about myself, to have that discovery has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve taken away from Survivor.”

Returning to the beach as one big tribe again, Paulie was told that he would once again be receiving votes. Doing everything that he could to try and change the split, to try and go a night without being the scapegoat. But they were still refusing to work with him.

“It’s absolutely infuriating and I feel like, at that point in the game, people were really complacent in their gameplay. People were unwilling to make moves and they just didn’t want to change the trajectory,” he admitted.

“People were playing too safe, and that was frustrating for me because taking a chance and making a big, bold move is what’s going to get you votes at the end and, at that point in the game, nobody was doing anything except Myles and AJ.

“Everybody wanted to hide behind their big, shiny shields and they didn’t want to do anything different.”

After proving to his tribemates time and time again that he could be trusted, they still refused to work with him, and heading into what would be his last tribal council, Paulie said he felt a sense of peace wash over him.

“I really felt a sense of peace waiting for those votes to come out… in a way, I felt like I could breathe again. I could take a breath and I didn’t have to fight anymore with these nine people who really just weren’t on my side.”

While his time in the game may have come to an end, his influence has only just begun as Paulie becomes the second member of the jury, joining Laura on the bench.

Thrilled that he not only gets more time to relax at Jury Villa and enjoy three proper meals a day again, Paulie also said he was thrilled that being an early addition to the jury meant he’d also get to show off more of his fashion in future tribal councils.

As for his overall time in the game, Paulie said the entire journey was one of self-discovery that he felt came at exactly the right time in his life.

“I had gone through a lot of ups and downs in my life but I had never really been challenged before and putting yourself on the game of Survivor is the ultimate test of who you are as a human being.

“I think the way I played the game, the way I’ve been portrayed, really warms me to the person that I am,” he said. “I passed the test for myself and I’m really proud of that.”

Australian Survivor Brains V Brawn II continues Monday - Tuesday at 7.30 pm and Sundays at 7pm on 10 and 10 Play