JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes have gone from maybe-but-it-seems-pretty-likely fling to full blown relationship just in time for Christmas.
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.
Here's a full timeline of their relationship so far.
The couple went public with their romance earlier this year.
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-coloured 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.
Relationship timeline
Let's get into it.
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 behaviour.
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 the show, 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.”
Hughes described their bond 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.”
The pair also make a joint appearance on The Today Show.
“Look, he’s a great guy,” Siwa said. "It is platonic, we have a lot of fun together. Life is life, and I don’t know any future of anything. But, I’m really grateful for our dynamic that we have in our bond that we have, and whatever life does, life will do.”
Meanwhile, Chris said, "It’s not like the standard friendship that you have with your friends, but it’s, you know, it’s still a friendship. Having someone in there to go through an experience like that ... when you’re emotional, when you’re down, when you’re happy, that was beautiful."
Siwa denied Hughes was the reason for the breakup with Ebbs, telling podcast host Nick Viall that she and Hughes are “friends.”
Siwa shared a cute Instagram collage showing the two snuggling to celebrate her 22nd birthday
"The previous 7 days have been the prettiest.. 😊💫🎂," he wrote.
"& happiest:). Heart is overflowing 🤍," she commented.
Siwa shared a similarly cute Instagram collage showing the two snuggling to celebrate her 22nd birthday.
Instagram content
Siwa tells The Guardian that their relationship is "not platonic anymore, 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."
Siwa shares snaps from a riding outing with Hughes
Instagram content
Speaking to The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, Hughes says: “I’d love to marry her. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I run through scenarios of our wedding day."
He also claims they both “want kids.”
“Joelle has been with girls all her life,” he also said. “She is bisexual. She’s not now straight just because she’s with me.”
Instagram content
“He had no idea of the 2017-2020 hairline memes, that I’m not affected by on the daily anymore, but him saying this out of thin air literally finished healing a part of me. It’s almost like I had a band aid over it for the last 8 years and just wa leaving it there scared to look under it to see if it’s healed and he removed it being like why do u have this on before I could even explain what it was. Lucky lucky girl I am. Don’t even think I realize how lucky sometimes🤍✨🥺,” she wrote.
The pair got all dressed up in matching black looks and did a little photoshoot by the Thames after a friend's wedding. “A beautiful wedding in the city 💫🤍,” wrote Hughes.
Instagram content
The 24-year-old reality star has also appeared in TOWIE, Ex on the Beach and The Challenge UK.
The photo was taken backstage during her tour.
Instagram content
The families meet at Siwa's concert. Hughes shares a big picture the following day. “our families finally met last night; dad wore a tie to the concert and mum was living 💫🥹🤍,” he wrote.
Instagram content
Siwa is honoured with a Humanitarian Award at the Dancers Against Cancer's 2025 Gala. The pair pose together on the red carpet and, during her speech, he even brought her a tissue when she teared up.
Instagram content
The pair frolic around Primark's Christmas section and cuddle up in bed.
“Celebrating Our First Christmas together,” Hughes wrote.
Instagram content
A version of this article originally appeared on Glamour (US).
The former child star has undergone a drastic rebrand.
