JoJo Siwa ‘Never Intended’ Romantic Feelings for Chris Hughes

JoJo Siwa is giving fans a closer look at her new relationship.

The Dance Moms alum appeared on the Thursday, June 5 episode of Gyles Brandreth’s podcast Rosebud and spoke about her new relationship with Chris Hughes, with whom she became close friends during the Celebrity Big Brother UK‘s 24th season and is now dating.

“It’s a beautiful journey,” Siwa, 22, said of dating Hughes, 32. “Serendipity is Christopher and I’s favorite word now. If you read the definition of it, it’s essentially finding love when you’re least looking for it.”

Added Siwa, “I don’t know how the universe did align for Chris to come in my life.” When asked what’s special about Hughes, Siwa replied, “What’s not?”

She added that he was the only person in the house who she knew what they looked like ahead of the reality show. “Initially, the first thing that I took in about him was that he was a good hugger, I liked his hug, that felt like a nice embrace, and he smelled good. I was like, ‘Okay, cool!’ ”

“We just bonded right away, and it started very much so as friends. I wasn’t looking to fall for him, he wasn’t looking to fall for me, we’re having so much fun together, we’re having a laugh together,” Siwa continued. “Whenever one of us was down, it was the other one who helped.”

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She also talked about leaving the “bubble of Big Brother.” “I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen,” she said. “I had all these realizations in my life that I wasn’t happy and things that I was being okay with that I should have never been okay with.”

Once she got out of the house, she realized that she “started to feel something” for Hughes “that I never intended to, but I couldn’t not feel.” Siwa added, “And I’m a very lucky girl because he was feeling the same thing.”

In Celebrity Big Brother UK, Hughes finished in sixth place and Siwa finished third. After leaving the reality show, they said they were “platonic” friends. “Look, he’s a great guy. It is platonic, we have a lot of fun together,” Siwa said, appearing on This Morning in late April with Hughes.

“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.”

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After the show filmed, Siwa and her partner Kath Ebbs, who identifies as non-binary, broke up. Ebbs claimed that Siwa broke up with them at a Celebrity Big Brother UK wrap party. Siwa, on her part, said that there were “so many reasons” why they called it quits.

The following month, Siwa and Hughes also put their friendship on display online, sharing pictures from a getaway in Mexico, along with a snap of them cuddling together.

Siwa confirmed on June 2 that she and Hughes were dating in an interview with The Guardian. “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,” she told the publication.

Siwa’s new song “Bulletproof,” which was released in May, is available to stream.