A swanky State Dinner at the White House seems to have created some headaches for Anthony Albanese in his blossoming relationship with Jodie Haydon.
"I'm not quite sure how I top this for date night with Jodie, at any time, in any way in the future," the prime minister told those at the dinner.
"It's all downhill from here, my darling."
Sharing the stage with President Joe Biden, Mr Albanese looked out to a 300-strong crowd including hit artists Vance Joy and The Kid Laroi, rugby league and racing heavyweight Peter V'landys and current Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt.
The guest list perhaps lacked true Australian star-power, the Washington Times describing the dinner as "featuring few well-known names".
And the event was - by design - less celebratory than the other three State Dinners the Biden administration has hosted, the Middle East conflict dominating the thoughts of those in attendance.
Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, whose parents fled the Nazis in the 1930s, paid tribute to the president for toning things down.
The more subdued affair saw previously-scheduled band The B-52s scrapped in place of military music, among other alterations.
"This is very much on our mind tonight and I just want to commend the resident and first lady because we would have loved to, under normal circumstances, had the music … that was a good call," Senator Wyden told reporters.
With securing legislative support for the AUKUS pact at the top of Mr Albanese's American to-do list, the presence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Australia Caucus Co-Chair Joe Courtney would have been appreciated by the PM.
Key Australian business figures including Chamber of Commerce head Andrew McKellar and Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox were in attendance, joined by trade unions boss Michelle O'Neil.
It's unclear how guests rated the three-course feast whipped up by chef Katie Button, the meal beginning with a butternut squash soup before braised short ribs, with a hazelnut and chocolate mousse cake bringing things home.
