In 2012, Bukowski competed on season 8 of The Bachelorette led by Emily Maynard. He went on to become a controversial staple on Bachelor Pad, where he kind of rigged the competition, thanks to a curveball new rule thrown in by host Chris Harrison. According to Life & Style, the rule said that instead of voting out two people, the cast would only vote on a woman, who would then choose a man to leave with her.

The group's grand plan, led by Michael Stagliano, was to axe Erica Rose all while convincing her that Bukowski, who was not well-liked in the house, was the one who turned them all against her in hopes that she'd eliminate him, too. But Bukowski was onto them. When voting time came around, he pulled Rose into the voting room to physically prove to her that he didn't plot her demise. That changed everything — Rose was still ousted, but she chose to take Stagliano down with her instead.

Because Bukowski was bold enough to break the rules, he may have ruined the show for everyone. "I'm a gamer and that was so much fun. It was scary... it literally changed the game," he told Life & Style. "Do I regret [pulling Erica into the voting room]? No. Absolutely not. It was the best decision ever. Bachelor Pad can't even happen now, they'd have to make a whole new show." Enter: BiP, without a voting room in sight.