'Million Dollar Listing New York' stars Ryan Serhant and Fredrik Eklund tease 'totally different' Luis D. Ortiz's return (Exclusive)

Luis is back!

Fan-favorite "Million Dollar Listing New York" cast member Luis D. Ortiz returns to the Bravo show after a two-season hiatus for season 8, which premieres on Thursday, August 1. After co-starring on the show from season 2 through season 5, Luis shocked his viewers and cast mates by leaving both the show and his high-powered real estate career to live in Paris and travel the world on a mission for self-discovery.

SEE ALSO: Will Fredrik Eklund jump to 'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles' following his move out west?

While fellow cast mates Ryan Serhant and Fredrik Eklund followed him to Paris to try to convince him to return in season 6, Luis stuck to his guns and continued his travels, during which Fredrik told AOL's Gibson Johns that "he wasn’t all that happy throughout."

"It was good, it was important, but I can tell you firsthand that it wasn’t all that easy for him," Fredrik told AOL exclusively. "He wasn’t all that happy throughout it, and he’s very, very happy right now. We’re going to find out on the show how and why that is."

That being said, their efforts ultimately paid off, with Fredrik calling himself "instrumental in getting him back" because he's "very close with him," an assessment he says that Luis "would agree with."

"I’m very, very happy to have him back, and not just because he’s very entertaining and made for TV," he continued. "It's also because I feel like he really needed structure and real estate and the show gave that to him in a sense. He has such a beautiful heart and is one of the most kind people I’ve ever met, and he deserves the best. As a good friend, you don’t want to be in his way when he says he wants to travel the world and find himself, however, if I let him go, [I knew] it would be kind of a boomerang."

SEE ALSO: Why season 8 of 'Million Dollar Listing New York' will be 'stressful' for Ryan Serhant

For his part, Ryan told AOL that he has nothing but admiration -- and a bit of jealousy! -- for Luis' "two-year weekend," as he put it.

"He had a bug, and he never would’ve been happy if he had just stayed in real estate doing the show. He loves it, but at the same time, it was killing him," he explained. "He had to go to Paris and meet new people and travel all over the world. He went to places that I’ll never get to go to, and I kind of envy a little bit of that, because at a good point in his career -- making money, good clients, on a TV show -- he had the balls to say, 'Eh, I’m going to take two years.' And he came back, not knowing that Bravo would let him back on the show, and said, 'You know what? I feel good now. I just had a good two-year weekend and I’m coming back to the business.'"

While audiences fell in love with Luis' firecracker demeanor and high energy personality, Ryan said that the Luis that returned from traveling the world isn't the same person that left several years ago.

"It’s a totally different Luis now: Far more chill," he teased. "You’ll remember that on the show he was perfect suits, very slick and running around. Now he’s wearing t-shirts, yellow nail polish and an earring or two. He’s got a new soul."

"Million Dollar Listing New York" season 8 premieres on Bravo on Thursday, August 1 at 9 p.m. EST