"Coming into the table I was very nervous and didn't want to come in and let everyone know I own restaurants and cafes," he tells Real Talk.
"They're all going to have high expectations, they're all going to be asking questions. I just wanted to kind of get to know everyone before I tell them. But I was feeling really bad about it, at the instant restaurants I was feeling very uncomfortable. I told Romel, 'I just have to tell these people, I have to get it out so it's all on the table'."
While the Lebanon-born business owner may be remorseful about keeping his secret, he's adamant his white lie was not cheating.
"I don't feel like it effected the competition because we hadn't cooked by that point," he tells Real Talk.
"It's not like we cheated. In my opinion we didn't cheat. I am a registered nurse, I actually went to uni.
"I withheld that information for a few instant restaurants. But it didn't effect the competition because we hadn't cooked by that point. People could still judge us any way they want.
"We wanted to say it straight away to be honest, we were really uncomfortable.
For the full interview with Ibby and Romel, where they spill Josh and Austin's shock secret no one saw coming, listen to the latest episode of Real Talk with Holly & Ali.