If you’ve been on the internet at all in the past few weeks, you’ve perhaps seen people in a tizzy over JoJo Siwa, Chris Hughes, and their maybe-but-it-seems-pretty-likely fling.
The 22-year-old former Dance Moms star turned singer, dancer, and reality TV mainstay has been spotted across the pond cozying up to the 32-year-old Hughes, who is best known for appearing on Love Island, ever since the two appeared together on Celebrity Big Brother UK.
But despite the fact that the two have been spotted looking quite romantic multiple times recently, and that Siwa’s former partner has said they got dumped shortly after Siwa filmed the reality show, neither has confirmed they are dating.
So why does everyone care so much about these two anyway? We will (attempt to) explain, in this edition of TL;DR.
Give me the TL;DR.
JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes have sparked dating rumors after they flirted on Celebrity Big Brother UK and have since been spotted all over social media looking quite like a couple.
I need more, what’s the background here? Let’s back up. Who is JoJo Siwa?
The most famous ponytailed girl in the US, Siwa has lived a lot of lives since she first appeared on our screens as a child in 2014.
Siwa, then nine, first appeared on the competition show Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, a spin-off of the popular lifetime reality series Dance Moms. She eventually joined the main show in season five, appearing for two seasons.
After leaving Dance Moms, Siwa started an incredibly successful YouTube channel (it now has more than 12 million subscribers) and soon launched her own line of her iconic hair bows, began to release music, and signed a deal with Nickelodeon in 2017.
In 2021, at age 17, Siwa publicly came out as LBGTQ and later announced she was dating a woman. She also began to shed her candy-colored image and signature side pony, culminating in a 2024 rebrand that had…mixed reviews.
Siwa has also found success appearing on a slew of reality TV competition shows, from Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance to Special Forces. In 2025, despite the fact that she says “no one” on her team wanted her to do it, she chose to join Celebrity Big Brother UK.
“Right before I went in, the last thing I told my mom is, I said, ‘Mom, I think this is going to be the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.’ And I wasn’t speaking about my career, I was speaking about my life, and I think I was accurate on that,” Siwa told People.
Who is Chris Hughes?
Hughes is also a reality TV veteran. He first appeared on Love Island UK season three in 2017, where he met and began dating fellow contestant Olivia Attwood. The duo proved so popular with viewers that they got their own show called Chris and Olivia Crackin’ On in 2018.
Sadly, Crackin’ On was not long for this world (it lasted three episodes) and neither was the relationship. The couple split up after just seven months, and Hughes went on to date other reality stars and Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson.
He gave both singing and hosting a go, and appeared on “several” other reality shows before joining Siwa’s season of Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2025.
So what happened on the show and after?
Siwa and Hughes first bonded when Hughes defended the singer after fellow housemate Mickey Rourke made homophobic comments to her, leaving her in tears. Rourke was eventually booted from the show for his “inappropriate” language and bad behavior.
The relationship between the two soon heated up, with cameras capturing them cuddling and laughing together. To viewers, it definitely seemed like the two were an item.
“Christopher, the love that I’ve gained for you in this building is insane,” Siwa said to Hughes at the end of 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.”
Siwa also explored her sexuality while in the Big Brother house. As she told a housemate on a livestream, she had previously identified as a lesbian but now believed it was more accurate to call herself queer. Shortly after, Siwa’s partner since January, Kath Ebbs, said on Twitter that Siwa dumped them at the Big Brother after-party.
“I’m filming this in a complete state of shock,” they said in the April 26 video, which has since been deleted. “After two weeks of sitting back watching certain things unfold and not being able to get any clarity from the person that it involved.”
However, Siwa denied Hughes was the reason for the breakup with Ebbs, telling podcast host Nick Viall that she and Hughes are “friends.” And Hughes described their bond in April as “a really strong bond between two people, which is just a strong friendship.”
“I think you can have, like, a soulmate friendship,” he told ITV. “And to me it’s like that energy of where it’s not like the standard friendship that you have with your friends. But you know it’s still a friendship, and it’s just nice.”
Since then though, the pair has continued to share what certainly seem like loved-up moments, with Hughes posting photos from a trip they took to Mexico together that show them hugging and cuddling. Siwa shared a similarly cute Instagram collage showing the two snuggling to celebrate her 22nd birthday on May 19.
Despite what the internet and the world is screaming is very clear “evidence” of a relationship though, the pair has continued to deny they are together.
When asked on Monday if Hughes was her boyfriend on a British talk show, Siwa responded simply “No.” But when the host said Hughes was letting “us down” by not making things exclusive, Siwa pushed back.
“Chris couldn’t let me down even if he tried,” she said. “Chris is the best man.”
What does the internet think?
Quite frankly, a lot of people are obsessed.
Siwa has been a particular fascination for a certain type of pop-culture aficionado for a while now, especially since her KISS-inspired rebrand last year (and her now infamous song, “Karma”).
Maybe it’s the fact that so many Gen Zers grew up with Siwa as an ever-present child star extolling the virtues of candy and bows, or that she remains present in our culture through all her various ventures. But people are really interested in her life, and her constant evolution through the years.
And while no one in the US really knows who Hughes is (sorry), his dating exploits and reality show experience has made him relatively well-known in the UK. So the (possible) pairing is kind of a multi-country pop-culture match made in heaven.
Then there’s the fact that both Siwa and Hughes are super public in their daily lives on social media, and both know pretty well how to play the publicity game. So the fact that they are hinting at a possible romance while not outright confirming it just keeps people coming back.
Hey, did you know she had a new single?
Will anyone still care about this in two weeks?
Honestly, probably yes.
