WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the most recent episode of Survivor 44
He may be gone, but his fire is certainly still burning.
That's because according to Survivor 44 jury member Matt Blankinship, his showmance with Frannie Marin has continued off the island.
"The Frankinship is riding the wind," he told Parade in an interview out April 13. "We are sailing full speed. We're still dating, we're still together. We've done the Ethiopian food; we've got road trips coming up. We're going strong."
Matt's journey on the show came to an end on the April 12 episode when he was voted out in a rather frustrating post-merge twist that put only four out of the 11 remaining contestants up for elimination. In an even crueler bit of irony, it was his No. 1 ally Frannie's immunity win that set his eventual fate at tribal council into motion.
In the end, their undeniable chemistry proved to be too much of a threat to their competitors.
"I can't express enough how much you need somebody that you can trust out there, someone who you feel super confident has your back," he noted. "I think Frannie and I were that for each other. In another universe, we eventually would have to stab each other in the back. I'm sure some fireworks would go down."
But did Matt expect to see his bond with his fellow Soka tribe member so heavily featured on the show?
"There are a lot of little moments that were so cute and it feels so sweet and dear to me. I wasn't sure if they would make edit, because there's a lot to have to show on the show," he shared. "All of these adorable moments at the fledgling stages of our relationship, that means the world. And we got a montage!"
And despite coming in 11th place on the reality competition, Matt admitted the entire experience was worth playing for.
"It's Survivor 101, the ABCs, you don't get into a frickin' showmance," he said of finding love in Fiji. "It's dumb. And I knew that we both knew that. But I mean, it was two dorky magnets—we couldn't separate from each other. The chemistry was immediate."
Matt added, "It was totally unexpected and caught me off guard. But in all honesty, it made my life and made the whole thing so much richer for me."
See how the rest of Survivor 44 plays out Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Plus, see the status of other fan-favorite Survivor couples, below...