First stepping onto the beach in 2016, Brooke Jowett has created quite a legacy for herself, with a massive 132 days under her belt and a record number of Individual Immunity wins.
Playing across a decade of Australian Survivor, and through three massive seasons, Brooke knew that she had her work cut out for her when she returned for Redemption.
"I was looking at that little montage they did of me as a 23-year-old, and it brings back so many memories," Brooke told 10.
Initially, Brooke applied to be on Australian Survivor because she was at a crossroads.
"I hated my job and didn't like where I was going in life. I didn't know what I was doing," she explained. "Survivor shaped me onto the right path, made me love fitness and pushing myself, so it's just been this really beautiful pathway to where I am now.
"Every five years we see me being lost and finding myself, not having the partner that I want, the life that I want... now I've got everything I wanted except the win! It's been a beautiful 10 years," Brooke said.
For her third attempt at the title of Sole Survivor, Brooke admitted it was the most difficult so far. From wild weather and almost seven days without food, to the ratio of newbies and returnees.
"Above all that, I left my toddler, who I had never left before for a sleepover, for 40 days. To top it all off, the day I got sent home was her birthday, so I had that playing on my mind.
"Whether or not it was playing on my mind too much and screwed my game, I don't know. I do think I tried everything I could," she continued.
As one of four returning players this season, Brooke's reputation as a challenge beast also meant she had an enormous target on her back from the get-go.
"It was just so tricky to dodge bullets and try to make people think I'm not a threat... and in my mind I was thinking I'd be voting for me. If I were you, I'd want me out of here," Brooke laughed.
"It made me paranoid at times. It was very hard to trust people, even the people who were working with me; I was always second-guessing."
With the odds stacked against her, Brooke said she felt like a shot at winning the season was "really, really hard" but not impossible.
"Every day that went past, it got harder and harder. The early stages of the game, I did think I'd go early," she admitted, "but once we were at day seven, I thought, okay, I'm not being targeted yet. No one's throwing my name around. I've managed to shield myself. Maybe there's a way to get to the end.
"As soon as tribe swap happened and I saw how desperately everyone wanted me gone, I knew it would be really hard," Brooke continued. "And it just got harder and harder. The only way to get to the end would have been a winning streak."
But Brooke didn't count on her close ally Keeley not only winning the immunity necklace but also being the deciding vote that would seal her fate, sending Brooke to the jury.
In a full circle moment, Brooke's torch was snuffed by David Genat, the very man who maneuvered her out of the game in All Stars and the reason she was seeking her 'redemption' this time around.
"That moment was a flashback of everything from the last 10 years," Brooke said. "I was thinking about the young version of me, getting emotional about that and how much the show has brought me.
"And my reason for redemption is Dave, but here's Dave in front of me snuffing my torch! It was too much emotion, but it also filled me with pride," Brooke said.
After a gruelling 40 days, Brooke's time in the game came to an end. "I was 45 days in Season One, 47 in All Stars, and 40 days here... a few days within the end every single time, so it was playing on my mind on repeat: could I have done something else?
"But the thing that makes me feel okay is that I did try," Brooke continued. "I tried everything I could possibly do to get to the end.
"I wasn't upset to be going, I was just so grateful for the 10 years that I have had in the game," she continued. "The world has grown up with me... it was a really proud moment."
Australian Survivor: Redemption continues Sunday at 7pm and Monday and Tuesday at 7.30 on 10.
