'She's like my little sister': Josh Gibson denies I'm a Celebrity romance

Despite Ten’s cunning editing tricks, I’m a Celebrity evictee Josh Gibson has denied a budding romance with campmate model Simone Holtznagel.

The former AFL star, a one-time favourite to take out the show, was the sixth contestant sent packing from the jungle, ahead of next week’s finale.

Speaking from South Africa following his exit – where he was celebrating his dismissal with a “four-course dinner, washed down with red wine and Tim Tams” – the ex-Hawks star said their flirty banter on the show was just “friendship”.

“Simone was one of the first people I met going into camp, and she’s a great girl,” he said.

“She was like my little sister in there. No doubt we had a great relationship – just as I had with the others.”

During Monday’s episode, Gibson told the show’s hosts Julia Morris and Chris Brown that the much-hyped sexual chemistry between Simone and himself was all in the “editing”.

“There’s gonna be no 0 to 100, mate. There’s gonna be no babies, no relationship. She’s gonna go back to LA, I’m going to Sydney, and we will both be single,” he told Brown.

He echoed that sentiment over the phone from South Africa, but added they’re “fantastic friends and we’ll be staying close”.

Gibson, who’s famously spoken out about his struggles with anxiety, also discussed how the “manic” nature of the show got to him at times.

“Being such an organised person, you can’t control all situations. To be patient with things, that’s the biggest thing I had to learn,” he says.

He credits his bond with Holtznagel – and comedians Peter Rowsthorn and Fiona O’Loughlin, his tips to take out the competition – for helping him cope.

“I didn’t really think about [my anxiety] before going in, it just is what it is, mate. If it comes up, you deal with it.

“It’s just part of life, nothing to shy away from, and it was all good while I was in there.

“But when you’re in such a confined space for so long, it’s not always going to be smooth sailing. There’s always times when you need someone to talk to.

“Pete and I had a really great relationship, Danny [Green] and I are very close, and you always rely on one another to get you through those tough times,” he says.

“But I’d love to see Fiona or Pete win the jungle – they were fantastic campmates, and such an important part of the show. I think I would’ve struggled without them there, for sure.”

I’m a Celebrity’s finals week continues on Ten at 7:30pm on Tuesday.

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