Abby Lee Miller can’t deny the affection between JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes.
“She is smitten,” Miller, 59, exclusively shared with Us Weekly at the 10th anniversary event of “Juicy Scoop With Heather McDonald” on Wednesday, June 25. “I was with the two of them together. We were doing a thing for the opening of Universal Orlando’s new theme park, Epic Universe, and oh my god! She reminded me of me with a young, hot guy.”
The Dance Moms star recalled her former student “batting her eyelashes” and “looking over her shoulder at him.”
“I think it’s hilarious. I think it’s adorable,” Miller added at STK Steakhouse in Westwood, California. “He seems just as taken with her.”
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Siwa, 22, and Hughes, 32, met on the U.K. reality show Celebrity Big Brother in April. During their time in the Big Brother house, the pair developed a strong friendship and bond.
It wasn’t until June when Siwa confirmed her romance with the former Love Island UK contestant.
While the “Boomerang” singer — who now identifies as queer after previously identifying as a lesbian — faced some questions from fans about her sexuality, Miller said her longtime friend has never cared about what other people think of her.
“You know what I always say? JoJo is laughing all the way to the bank. She doesn’t care,” Miller said. “I think that’s one thing I taught her that was very valuable. When you are in the limelight and you are an artist — whether dancer, singer, sculptor, painter, whatever — and you put your heart on a plate and someone is going to stab it with a fork, you have to love it more than anything in the world, and you have to be more proud of what you’re doing that it doesn’t matter.”
Siwa met the dance instructor when she was 9 years old and appeared in Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition before starring in Dance Moms.
More than a decade later, the pair remain in touch and share an appreciation for each other’s respective talents.
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“I think JoJo is internally, she’s grateful,” Miller explained. “She knows that that show catapulted her to a position where she could get a contract with Nickelodeon and sell products in every single store and just boom.”
As Siwa continues her new romance with Hughes, Miller is staying busy in the dance world.
The dance instructor is headed to the Dance World Cup in Europe later this summer to judge thousands of students. She also continues to host the “Leave It On the Dance Floor” podcast every week.
