The end of her Big Brother run was just the beginning of the drama for JoJo Siwa. Shortly after she exited the Celebrity Big Brother house in third place on April 25, Siwa’s partner Kath Ebbs revealed that their relationship came to a sudden end. In Ebbs’ video, they alluded to the strong connection Siwa had formed with fellow houseguest Chris Hughes, and now, Siwa is opening up about her decision to split with Ebbs, as well as where she now stands with Hughes.
Siwa’s closeness with Hughes became a hot topic during their time on Series 24 of the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother. Though Siwa was still with Ebbs during the three-week filming period, she developed a noticeably strong and intimate friendship with the former Love Island heartthrob, even cuddling in bed with Hughes on several nights.
On April 26, shortly after the season’s finale, Ebbs seemed to hint at the speculation around Siwa and Hughes in a since-deleted TikTok that was clipped by followers on X. “Everything that we saw unfold on what I thought was a fake reality show where I didn’t need to worry about the validity of our relationship, was in fact laced in a lot of truth,” Edds said. “I, and I guess we, the people viewing, weren’t crazy to what they were seeing. A lot of the things that were depicted were rooted in truth, and I have become collateral in that truth.”
In the rest of the clip that is still live on Ebbs’ Instagram, they confirmed Siwa broke up with them right when they reunited at the Big Brother wrap party. “I went to the after-party with my, I guess, now ex, and was dumped in the party,” Ebbs said. “I was told that there are confused feelings there, do with that what you will, and they had realized in the house that I wasn’t the person that they wanted to spend the foreseeable [future with].”
“I haven’t processed it enough to call it love bombing, but it seems to me I have experienced a version of that,” Ebbs said. “Being told that I’m the love of someone’s life, being asked to marry them before this social experiment … I feel humiliated.”
Siwa revealed her side of the situation during an April 28 interview on This Morning, emphasizing how her time in the Big Brother house caused her to reflect deeply on the things she was “not OK with” in her life. “I knew as soon as I got out that I wanted to fix things in my life, and make the changes that I needed to make,” Siwa said. “I think I realized just how not great things were, that I was pretending they were great, and it’s been hard, but it’s been good, and I’m very happy with where I am now.”
Although she’s in a good place now, Siwa did admit she wished the breakup with Ebbs had been handled differently. “I’ll be honest, that was not a plan, that was not an intention, that was not supposed to happen like that,” Siwa said. “Initially, I was told that the wrap party was something that [Ebbs] didn’t want to attend. And then about an hour into the wrap party they decided that they wanted to … They straight up asked me if I was happy and I said no, and you know, one thing led to another, and that conversation did take place there.”
However, Siwa was clear that there is nothing romantic going on between herself and Hughes. “He’s a great guy. It is platonic,” Siwa said. “I don’t know any future of anything, but I’m really grateful for our dynamic that we have and our bond that we have, and whatever life does, life will do.”
