JoJo Siwa offered a one-word comment when asked about her rumored romance with Chris Hughes.
The 22-year-old's budding relationship with Hughes, 32, began in front of TV cameras and has since spilled into real life and across social media.!
The pair first met on Celebrity Big Brother UK, where their playful chemistry, late-night cuddles, and on-screen kisses on the cheek sparked immediate fan speculation.!
Their connection didn’t end with the show as the Love Island alum later posted an intimate photo of the two cuddling on a sofa with the caption: “The previous 7 days have been the prettiest.”
The Dance Moms star later gushed about him in a recent E! News interview, calling Chris "her favorite thing to talk about".
"I shouldn’t call him a thing - he’s my favorite person to talk about," she added.
Soon after the reality TV show aired, the duo jetted off to Mexico, where they were spotted kissing in a pool and holding hands at an adults-only hotel.
An onlooker told The Sun: “JoJo and Chris looked very loved-up… They were very hands-on, not entirely different to how they were on TV, just a bit more intimate.”
Siwa even changed the lyrics of her performance of 'Bette Davis Eyes' to “Chris Hughes’ eyes,” adding to the whirlwind speculation.
Yet, when asked directly about the nature of their relationship during a May 26 appearance on ITV’s Lorraine, the 'Karma' singer offered a surprising response.
In the interview, host Andi Peters called Hughes her boyfriend, and she simply laughed and said: “No.” Peters then asked if they've had an Island-esque conversation about making their relationship exclusive, and she quipped: "We have never gone into the kitchen and said, ‘My head’s not turning any way.’”
The television presenter then indicated that Hughes was “letting us down,” prompting Siwa to quickly come to his defense: “Chris couldn’t let me down even if he tried. Chris is the best man.”
That one word - “No” - came amid a storm of attention, not just from fans but also from Siwa's ex, Kath Ebbs, who claimed to have been blindsided by the couple's alleged relationship.
In an emotional TikTok, Ebbs shared that the TV star ended their relationship at the Big Brother after-party, saying: “ I went to the afterparty with my now ex, and was dumped in the party.”
The Australian actor, writer, and presenter said it came as a "complete shock", telling their followers: "I don’t even know where to begin. I’m filming this in a complete state of shock, which I know is probably distressing and giving, ‘Go have a sleep.'
"But I feel so numbed out right now and so disorientated that I feel like the only thing I have to do to place this situation is to finally address it after two weeks of sitting back watching certain things unfold and not being able to get any clarity from the person that it involved,” they added.
Ebbs accused Siwa of “love bombing,” recounting how the 'Guilty Pleasure' singer had previously professed her love and even proposed marriage.
“To be met with, yeah, being further humiliated in a weird way… that’s more of a feeling, I don’t know if it’s fact,” they said.
According to the actor, Siwa told them “there were confused feelings” and that she had realized in the Big Brother house “I wasn’t the person they wanted to spend the foreseeable [future] with".
While Siwa and Hughes have yet to officially confirm their relationship, their growing closeness continues to make headlines.