JoJo Siwa Says ‘By No Means Am I Straight’ Amid Romance With Chris Hughes

JoJo Siwa is opening up about her sexuality amid her relationship with boyfriend Chris Hughes.

“I think that we are the LGBTQIA+ family, not the LG community, and it’s a beautiful rainbow,” Siwa, 22, said on the Tuesday, September 9, episode of the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast. “The No. 1 saying of the community is ‘love is love,’ and that goes both ways.”

She continued, “There was a part of me that, when I realized I was fully in love with Christopher, I realized now I have a duty of — and by no means am I straight — [being an] example of somebody who is in the queer community that is in a heterosexual relationship.”

According to Siwa, her relationship demonstrates that “once again love is love.”

Siwa and Love Island UK alum Hughes, 32, met this summer while filming Celebrity Big Brother UK. The twosome started dating after the reality TV competition wrapped and Siwa broke up with nonbinary partner Kath Ebbs.

The former Dance Moms child star publicly came out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in 2021, but now identifies herself differently.

“Honest, I would define myself as happy,” she said on Tuesday’s episode. “Some people now call me straight. Fair play [because] I’m in a heterosexual relationship. I’m so deeply in love with a man, I can’t even control it myself.”

Siwa added, “I would probably just say queer. I think that’s a beautiful umbrella term, and it gives flexibility [and] it gives fluid[ity]. I think that pansexual, obviously, is exactly what I feel. I think some people would also just say bisexual. I think that’s very easy.”

Siwa further noted that she doesn’t “get hung up” on labeling her sexuality.

“I think that I was, and I felt like I needed to be,” she said. “It’s just exhausting. What’s the point? I’m happy. I’ve never, ever wanted the future so bad. I’ve never, ever wanted the love that I have to just continue to grow.”

Siwa is also, for the first time in her life, hopeful that her relationship with Hughes will one day make it down the aisle.

“I’ve never cared about another person so much. I’ve never craved a wedding,” Siwa admitted. “I’ve always wanted to go sign a piece of paper or go to Vegas because I didn’t want to have a wedding, but now I want a ring, and I want my dad to walk me down the aisle, and I want a first dance and butterflies.”