After striking up an unlikely bond in the Celebrity Big Brother house, Chris Hughes and JoJo Siwa have continued to spark romance rumours on the outside. And a source tells heat that while 21-year-old JoJo is keen to make a go of things with the Love Island star, it’s Chris, 32, who is holding back.
And as heat went to press, there were rumours Chris had signed up to the new series of Celebs Go Dating, which has only added further confusion over his relationship with JoJo.
The insider says, ‘Chris is a bit confused at the moment. He’s scared to go so public with how he feels as the Big Brother experience heightened everything for him. He’s not sure if he loves JoJo romantically or as a friend. He’s trying to figure it out and doesn’t want to jump in until he’s done that. She means a lot to him, and he doesn’t want to hurt her.’
Dance Moms star JoJo fuelled speculation even further when she dumped her partner, Australian content creator Kath Ebbs, at the CBB wrap party – just hours after the final. In his exit interview, Chris teared up as he emotionally compared JoJo to an ex-girlfriend. They then spent their first weekend out of the house together, playing at a tennis club, before JoJo flew back to the US wearing Chris’ clothes.
On the show, JoJo – who previously identified as a lesbian – told fellow CBB housemate Danny Beard that her experience in the house made her realise she was ‘queer’ instead. The term is used to describe anybody who is not heterosexual or cisgender. And during an appearance on This Morning last week, Chris claimed JoJo was his ‘soulmate’, but was keen to stress their relationship is currently platonic. He told hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, ‘It’s just a really strong bond between two people. I think you can have a soulmate friendship.’ Meanwhile, when asked if things could turn romantic, JoJo refused to rule it out, saying, ‘It is platonic, we have a lot of fun together. Life is life and I don’t know any future of anything, but I’m really grateful for our dynamic and our bond and whatever life does, life will do.’
Our source continues, ‘Chris loves JoJo. She’s a special person to him and they have a great connection. JoJo has made her feelings clear – she’s told Chris she wants to give things a go and ended things with her partner Kath to show her commitment. Chris didn’t want to get involved until that was fully done as he knew the public would turn on him.
‘He also wanted her to figure things out before they went into anything more. He’s aware of the age difference, but she’s very mature – and Chris isn’t, at times! Now that they’re out of the house, they can figure things out properly and see what happens.’