JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes: How Their Relationship Bloomed From Celebrity Big Brother Chaos

Jojo Siwa, who always seems to find herself in the spotlight, has recently been involved in a kind of public relationship drama that feels new for her. And yes, it involves a man. She and Love Island U.K. star Chris Hughes walked into the Celebrity Big Brother U.K. house on April 7 as strangers. In just 21 days, they left with a bond so strong they even defended it on British morning television. Siwa, who said her ex-partner Kath Ebbs "cussed out" her at the show’s wrap party, was very clear that Hughes had nothing to do with that breakup on an April 30 podcast. But after spending her 22nd birthday together and sharing photos of them cuddling, Siwa finally said she was in a relationship with the 32-year-old. How did all of this happen in just a few weeks, all while being filmed?

JoJo Siwa’s time in the Celebrity Big Brother house was never boring. Hughes and Siwa first grew close after their fellow housemate Mickey Rourke made some homophobic remarks towards Siwa. Rourke told other housemates he was "going to vote the lesbian out real quick." He was talking about Siwa. He then got into a near physical fight with Hughes during a pirate themed challenge. Big Brother later removed Rourke from the house because of his behavior. This left Siwa and Hughes with a common enemy. They bonded over this for the rest of the competition. Both Hughes and Siwa were finalists. Hughes finished sixth and Siwa came in third.

After Rourke left the house, Siwa came out as queer. She said in real time that she no longer identified as a lesbian. Her relationship with Hughes started getting more serious on camera. Siwa and Hughes were seen cuddling. They were even thought to have shared a forehead kiss in a hot tub. This made fans wonder if their relationship was only friendly. "Christopher, the love that I’ve gained for you in this building is insane," Siwa told Hughes during their last dinner on the show. "You’re a one-of-a-kind gentleman, somebody who is so easy to love, so easy to laugh with. I really, really believe you are a vital part of my life that I didn’t know I was missing."

Unpacking The Aftermath: JoJo Siwa's Breakup With Kath Ebbs And Her Denial Of Chris Hughes' Involvement

The Emotional Fallout From The Big Brother House And JoJo's Clear Statements On Her Past Relationships

Soon after CBB ended, Siwa and her then-partner Kath Ebbs broke up. Many people thought that Chris Hughes had something to do with it. But Siwa was firm about this. "Chris does not have absolutely anything to do with it. Chris and I are friends," Siwa said on The Viall Files on April 30. Ebbs had previously claimed that Siwa ended their relationship at the show’s wrap party. Ebbs shared this on TikTok on April 26. "I was told that there are confused feelings there. And that they had realized in the house that I wasn’t the person that they wanted to spend the foreseeable future with," Ebbs stated.

When asked about her ex’s video, Siwa said it created a false story. "Don’t paint it out to look like I cheated on you with him, because I did not," she insisted. "I will nail my feet into the ground, and I will stand on that ground. I did not, I would not, and I have not." Siwa gave her own version of the breakup on The Viall Files. She said Ebbs initially did not want to come to the after-party. Siwa suggested they stay in separate hotels that night and meet up the next morning. She said this "rightfully" upset Ebbs. But at that time, Siwa did not feel she was in the right frame of mind to talk.

"I’m already having all these crazy thoughts that I’ve been having in the house and I need to formulate them," Siwa explained. She had hinted at having several "realizations" about her identity during the show. She also told ITV’s This Morning that being on CBB away from outside opinions made her realize "things that I was okay with in my life that I should never have been okay with." Siwa said she needed time to talk to her mom, be alone, check her phone, and process her thoughts and feelings.

Siwa claimed that Ebbs later changed their mind. Ebbs decided to show up to the after-party about an hour later to talk. "I’m getting cussed out," Siwa remembered. "I understand, they’re angry and they’re coming at me. But I also keep reiterating, like, ‘I’m not in a place to talk.’ I was just with 13 people down to six, locked away for 20 days, I haven’t spoken to anybody. I’m now in a room with 200 people, we’re in this hut, it’s outside, I haven’t slept in 24 hours, I don’t know what’s going on." Ebbs reportedly kept asking if Siwa was happy or wanted to "end things." Siwa initially kept repeating "I don’t know." But after allegedly being asked "16 times," Siwa had a new answer. "I was honest and I said, ‘If you ask me tomorrow, I don’t know my answer. If you ask me right now, my answer is yes.’ And then that obviously was taken as yes."

From Platonic Soulmates To A Full-Fledged Romance: JoJo And Chris's Relationship Evolves

How Social Media Hints And Public Appearances Revealed Their Growing Connection

On April 28, Siwa and Hughes told ITV’s This Morning their relationship was strictly platonic, for now. "Our friendship is hard to explain," Hughes said. "It’s just a really strong bond between two people, which is just a strong friendship. I think you can have a soul-mate friendship, I think that’s a thing." When asked about the future of their relationship, Siwa avoided being too direct. "Look, he’s a great guy, it is platonic, we have a lot of fun together, life is life," she said. "I don’t know any future of anything, but I am really grateful for our dynamic that we have, the bond that we have, and whatever life does, life will do."

Earlier, on April 25, Hughes told E! News that "we’re just messing around — we’re being kids." He added "JoJo was like a pure rock to me. She was someone I can have fun with. From a friendship point of view, yeah, of course I love her." So, they were friendly. Friends who make out. In many ways, that is what one’s 20s are for. Or early 30s, in Hughes’ case. On May 22, The Sun got pictures of Hughes and Siwa kissing in Mexico. But Siwa had not changed her mind about her relationship status. When asked about it on U.K. morning show Lorraine days later, Siwa laughed in disbelief at the idea she had a boyfriend. "No. It’s funny to me how straight up people get these days," she said.

However, if we know anything about JoJo Siwa, it is that Orlando is a very special place to her. On May 20, Hughes posted pictures on Instagram of what he called "the prettiest" seven days he spent in Orlando for Siwa’s 22nd birthday. The pair hugged in Disney Springs. They held hands at Gideon’s Bakehouse. They cuddled in a hotel lobby. Siwa posted her own collection of photos of them having a hotel-room breakfast. She called it "a week I’ll remember for the rest of my life." This was not just because she probably got to go inside Epic Universe.

Then, Chris Hughes posted pictures of them in bed. Well, that is one way to make things public. A day later, Siwa confirmed Hughes is her boyfriend in a June 2 interview with The Guardian. "It’s not platonic any more, and it’s been a beautiful development, a beautiful connection, and I’m absolutely head over heels for him and he’s the same way," she said. It was a beautiful and very public journey. It is hard not to feel happy for her. She seems truly smitten, like the heart-eyes emoji in human form. Siwa stated that anyone who suggests their relationship is "a PR stunt" is just showing their own beliefs. "Clearly, you’ve never been around us," she said. "I won’t ever speak for him, but for me personally, the happiness in my life just radiates off of me right now. Literally yesterday, I was massaging my cheeks; I’ve never [before] been in pain from smiling so much."

JoJo Siwa's Path To Happiness And Her Views On Personal Growth In The Public Eye

Reflecting On Her Journey From Child Star To Finding Genuine Connection

JoJo Siwa was born Joelle Joanie Siwa in Omaha, Nebraska. Her mother Jessalynn is a dance instructor and her father Tom is a chiropractor. She has an older brother Jayden who dabbled in vlogging. But Siwa was the star in the making. Jessalynn made it her goal to make it happen. In 2013, at age nine, Siwa was picked from an open call for Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. She placed fifth in the reality show. But her star power and Jessalynn’s drive got her picked for two seasons of Dance Moms starting in 2015. Young Siwa was often called loud and over the top. Even her coach Abby Lee Miller, who was known for being harsh, described her as "obnoxious; sometimes rude" while also praising her stage presence.

For the producers who found her, Siwa was raw talent and good TV. They would reportedly gather to watch her interviews being taped. They did not want to miss a minute of what they called "the JoJo show." "I did love it — that’s just who I was," says Siwa. "It was the best time in my life. I would give anything to go back to it." She was aware they were making a TV show. But she said it was never like "here’s the plan." She said she has never been told what to do or how to be. Other people’s experiences on reality TV are different. But Siwa insists "for me, it was 100% real."

After two seasons of Dance Moms, Siwa moved her show to YouTube. She made, filmed, and edited all her videos herself. The workload was harder than TV because there were no child labor rules. But the reward was higher. These days Siwa remembers that earlier time of "content creation." "It was so hard to be successful at, but it was unreal fun." In 2016, she released her first song, "Boomerang," which sold very well. She signed with Nickelodeon the next year. Her first world tour in 2019 sold out over 100 places, including the O2 Arena in London. She loved performing. She loved her career. She never felt forced. But she was aware of the pressure and responsibility.

She remembers a time on that tour when her stage manager told her "You can do the show without anybody; we can’t do the show without you. But do not abuse that power." Another 16-year-old might have gone wild. Siwa agrees. "That’s why I am where I am now, because I don’t have that blood in my body." Even as a child, she could "understand why child stars go crazy, because it’s really, really hard." She says "I think the hardest thing was feeling like you weren’t in control of yourself."

At age 15, "I was running a billion-dollar business." That is something that should never be on a 15-year-old’s shoulders. "But at the time, it was my normal." As of 2019, she had sold 90 million hair bows. "And that was just the bows," Siwa says. "Anything I did got turned into a doll." She is embarrassed to say the sales figures for her slime kit "because it’s ridiculous even to think about." Hundreds of thousands of dollars? "More. More." The money did not go straight into her bank account, Siwa quickly adds. But she did get access to a lot of money. Jessalynn, as a typical "stage mom," has often been accused of pushing Siwa too hard and taking away her childhood. But Siwa points out Jessalynn was also working for her. She had the choice to cut Jessalynn off when she turned 18. Instead, Siwa insists that when Jessalynn dies, it will be the end of her career. "We don’t have a normal mother-daughter relationship. But I couldn’t do it without her."

She did have a phase of being jealous of her friends’ "more nurturing" parents. Siwa admits this. She felt sad about what she missed. "Stupid little things like high-school football games, high school." She would have liked to go to medical school. "It’s crazy to me that it’s now a more realistic option for me to build and own a hospital." That feeling of her unlived life showed up last year. Siwa called it her "bad girl phase." After turning 21, she tried a more edgy style. This included Kiss-inspired makeup, sharp comebacks to "the haters," and drinking alcohol on stage. As child-star rebellions go, it was calm. Siwa felt like she was just going through the motions. "I was laughing about it today, what my makeup looked like — like, ‘Dear God, if I could go back in time …’ It wasn’t authentic." Even the shot she drank on stage was actually apple juice and Diet Coke, she says. "I think I just wanted to be so far away from being a child star, and I look back at that like, ‘You’re an idiot – being a child star was so fun.’ I love what I do, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world."

Now Siwa is trying to find that carefree feeling with her new song "Bulletproof." It is a sweet yet distorted take on "Frère Jacques," and it sticks in your head easily. Before, Siwa says, she released songs she "didn’t fully connect with," thinking they would be hits. With "Bulletproof," "It just feels right — it doesn’t matter the success level of it." She is also not interested in explaining her current happiness. Her ex, Ebbs, has spoken out since the breakup. But Siwa says she is "choosing peace" and not getting involved with any comments or opinions. "I’ve read 50 articles in the last week about me that are not true, that say, ‘Sources close to JoJo …’ You’re never gonna know the full truth — and I can’t be bothered to fill anybody in."

She will confirm that "queer" best describes how she is and who she is. But she keeps her right to stay fluid. "There’s a lot of different sexual identities. I think there’s nothing more beautiful than somebody discovering themselves." At 22, this is normal. The resistance to Siwa changing her image, including feelings of betrayal from some in the LGBTQ+ community, fits with the usual reaction to child stars changing. "I do live this very, very big public life that has so many eyeballs on it, and it can get really hard to navigate," Siwa says. "But I’m also living a human life. You can’t help who you love." Whether it is from her lifetime in the public eye or the comfort of new love, Siwa seems strong, like nothing can touch her. She confirms she is the happiest she has been in years. "Ever since Big Brother, genuinely. Even my family is like, ‘What happened in there?’" She describes lying in bed with Hughes. They scroll on their phones. This morning, she woke up to him singing one of her songs. "You know when you’re alone, how you feel? You are your true, raw self. I’ve obviously felt like that before, but never around one single person." As a kid, Siwa says, she did not separate her public and private self. "It was very much one straight-up path." She even learned to "look really happy, and fake it really well, and there’s something else going on inside." Now, she says, "It’s the first time in my life that it feels like I’m switched off."