JoJo Siwa is confirming her romance with Chris Hughes after Hughes posted a provocative selfie of them in bed together.
“It’s 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, 22, said in an interview with The Guardian published on Monday, June 2.
As for any suggestion that her newfound romance with Hughes, 32, is a “PR stunt,” Siwa told the outlet, “Clearly, you’ve never been around us. 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,” the Dance Moms alum added.
JoJo Siwa on Sexuality, Exes, What ‘Flabbergasts’ Her: Raw Interview
Siwa and Hughes met on the U.K. reality show Celebrity Big Brother in April. During their time in the Big Brother house, she and the former Love Island UK contestant developed a strong bond.
Rumors of a romantic connection between them intensified after the “Karma” singer broke things off with her then-partner, Kath Ebbs, on the night of the Celebrity Big Brother finale.
At the time, Siwa insisted her relationship with Hughes — who previously dated Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson — was purely “platonic.”
However, amid intense speculation of a romance, on Sunday, June 1, Hughes shared a selfie via Snapchat showing him and Siwa in bed together. Siwa gave a soft smile with her eyes closed while she rested her head on Hughes and laid a hand across his chest. Hughes, who was shirtless, had his arm wrapped around Siwa’s head as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Sleeepinnn beauty,” Hughes captioned the post.
Siwa exclusively told Us Weekly in a May cover story that her friendship with Hughes had “absolutely nothing to do with my breakup” with Ebbs.
“We still speak all the time, obviously, naturally,” Siwa told Us of her status with Hughes at the time. “Now to be out of the house, we just exist, and it is what it is. We’re happy, and we have each other. It’s a great little special friendship that we have.”
As Siwa rang in her birthday later that month, Hughes was featured in her Instagram carousel — which included several photos of the pair cozying up, including one of him holding her leg.
Jenna Johnson Is ‘Here’ for ‘DWTS’ Alum JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes
“This years birthday week was more magical than anything
,” Siwa captioned her post. “Full of surprises, family time, performing, chilling, laughing, loving, smiling, and good meaningful cries. Absolutely beautiful, wouldn’t change a single thing a week I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
After the celebration, The Sun obtained photos of Siwa and Hughes locking lips while on vacation in Mexico. (Us Weekly reached out to both Siwa and Hughes’ reps for comment at the time.)
