Project Runway's Aaron Michael Reacts to Getting Eliminated on His 40th Birthday

After being in the top more than any other designer in Season 19 of Bravo's Project Runway (six times, to be exact), Aaron Michael was looking for the win as he headed into the hair-inspired challenge featured in the January 13 episode. Though the look featured a hairdo from Ariana, the up-and-coming hairstylist Aaron collaborated with, the rest of the ensemble was a hairdon't for the judges, and they ultimately decided to send Aaron home.

Adding insult to injury, Aaron had just celebrated his 40th birthday with his fellow Season 19 designers on the eve of his elimination. But Aaron was in totally good spirits when he sat down with Christian Siriano in the Project Runway After Show (clip above) and reflected on his time in the competition.

"I surprised myself. I did better than I expected. I did better than most expected," Aaron told the Project Runway mentor, later adding that this season was "a great experience." "There were so many more moments here that made me feel like I had won that I didn't need to win."

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So, how did things go wrong for Aaron after all his success in the competition leading up to this point? "I went into the last challenge doing things that I swore I would never do," he explained.

Find out what Aaron said led to his demise this season of Project Runway, as well as his plans for after the competition (which, by the way, got Christian's seal of approval) in the video, above.

Project Runway airs Thursdays at 9/8c. And you can catch up on Project Runway the next day on Peacock.