JoJo Siwa has responded after her Dancing With The Stars friend Ezra Sosa joked that he “thought she was a lesbian”.
Siwa is now in a relationship with Chris Hughes, 33. Before that, she had been dating Kath Ebbs.
She was still with Ebbs while appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, but the relationship ended soon after the series wrapped, with reports suggesting the split happened at a CBB afterparty.
Not long afterward, the former Dance Moms star confirmed that she and Hughes were together.
The relationship surprised some fans because Siwa publicly came out as gay in 2021, according to Variety. Among those reacting was DWTS pro Ezra Sosa.
In a recent TikTok, Sosa said:
“I’m passing the phone to some I thought was lesbian, but is clearly not anymore.”
Siwa then took the phone and answered:
“She was [a lesbian] by the way.”
Siwa has already spoken publicly about her sexuality, saying her time on Celebrity Big Brother helped her understand that lesbian no longer felt like the right label. During a conversation with Danny Beard on the show in April 2025, she realized that the term “queer” better described her evolving understanding of her identity.
During a conversation with Danny Beard on the show, she said:
“I think I’ve always told myself I’m a lesbian. I think being here, I’ve realised I am not a lesbian, I’m queer. And I think that’s really cool.
“I’m switching letters! I’ve dropped the L and I’ve gone to the Q, baby! That’s what I love about sexuality.”
Since confirming her relationship with Hughes in June 2025, Siwa has continued to clarify her identity in multiple interviews. In April 2026, she emphasized that she remains deeply connected to queer identities such as “queer, pansexual, bisexual,” even though she does not like to strictly label herself. She has stated that she “could never” describe herself as straight, even while in a relationship with Hughes. When pressed to choose a label, she said she would identify as pansexual, explaining that she has “dated girl, dated non-binary, and now date boy,” and that she experiences attraction to people regardless of gender.
Siwa has addressed concerns about her identity shift with remarkable candor. She told Us Weekly in April 2026: “I obviously have shared my entire life since I was nine. I’ve never hid anything. I was very honest when I was 17, and I fell in love with my best friend, who happened to be a girl… I never hid that. And I continued to share my journey and continued to be honest. This time, though, it was with a man, and all of a sudden, a lot of people who once were really supportive of me decided that, ‘Hey, bad!’… It’s because people could.”
In May 2026, Siwa and Hughes celebrated their one-year dating anniversary. Siwa told People magazine simply: “He’s my person,” describing the past year as “the best year ever” and promising it was “only gonna go up from here.” During an appearance at the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special premiere in Los Angeles in March 2026, she revealed that Hughes inspired her upcoming single “Serendipity,” explaining that their lives connecting and meeting felt like serendipity itself.
In May, Hughes also opened up to Tyla about how their relationship works despite the distance between them, with him based mostly in the UK and Siwa living in the US.
He said:
“When I speak to the people around me, I think everybody thinks it’s more of a struggle than it is,”
“I don’t find it a struggle to fly over there, or for her to fly over here. I quite like it. The jet lag is never fun, but I like the element of travelling.
“It’s a different level of excitement. It’s never been too stressful.”
Hughes added:
“Obviously, yes, you’re seeing each other less than you would if you lived an hour or two down the road, or in the North of England, I get that.
“But being in different countries is quite nice. You can learn different things about each other; it’s fun. It works.”
The former Love Island contestant also said he would like to become a parent in the future, noting that his brother recently had a daughter, which has made him envision a similar future with Siwa.
“We’re living the moment, but one day, it’d be lovely to have kids,”
“My brother has just had a daughter, which is lovely, so I’ve got a niece. It’s very sweet. When I see it all happening, it’s something I, for sure, would want.”
In interviews in early 2026, Hughes expressed his deeper feelings about the relationship. In a Fabulous magazine interview, he admitted: “I’d love to marry her. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I run through scenarios of our wedding day.” When asked about the possibility of Siwa proposing to him, however, Hughes stated that if she hadn’t proposed after seven years together, he would prefer to take the initiative himself, noting that “It shouldn’t take you seven years to work out if you want to marry someone.”
Despite the unconventional beginning of their relationship on the reality show and the public scrutiny surrounding Siwa’s evolving sexuality, the couple has continued to speak positively about their bond. Reflecting on their connection, Siwa told a podcast that Hughes “was there for me at my lowest times and I was there for him at his lowest times. That’s what made it so special.”