- The British reality star first appeared on TV in 2017
- Since then, he’s stayed in the limelight
- He struck up an unlikely friendship with Jojo Siwa on the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother
In a series of events nobody could have predicted, Dance Moms alumna Jojo Siwa and UK TV personality Chris Hughes grew unexpectedly close in the Celebrity Big Brother house.
It seemed an unlikely bond given that Hughes is British and Siwa is American, and with the pair being 11 years apart in age.
Their surprisingly tactile friendship proved surprising to some viewers, who claimed it looked romantic despite Siwa identifying as a lesbian when she first arrived on the show.
But who is Hughes, and how did he become famous?
How did Hughes come into the public eye?
The TV personality first appeared on screens during the third series of the UK edition of Love Island back in 2017. He placed third with partner Olivia Atwood.
They later starred in their own TV show, Chris and Olivia: Crackin’ On, as well as a game show with fellow Love Island contestant Kem Cetinay.
In 2019, he appeared in a documentary about his brother Ben’s testicular cancer diagnosis. This happened as a result of Ben checking himself for the first time after Chris underwent a testicular examination live on TV as part of an awareness campaign.
What’s his connection to Jojo Siwa?
One of the big talking points of Celebrity Big Brother’s recently-ended series was how close Hughes and Siwa became. Notably, footage emerged of them spooning in bed with Hughes stroking Siwa’s back.
In any other situation, it might have looked romantic. However, it seemed like it couldn’t have been given Siwa had a partner, Kath Ebbs.
Read more: Jojo Siwa’s partner hits back at Mickey Rourke
Siwa questioned various aspects of her identity during her time in the house. She admitted at one point that she was wondering if she was non-binary but was not yet sure.
“[I’ve] met a lot of people in my life that are non-binary, and these beautiful, non-binary people are who I feel most like, and it’s—I don’t know—it’s not something that I want to say about myself yet, but it’s something that is confusing,” she said.
Later on, she said that she wanted to define her sexuality differently too. “I’ve always told myself I’m a lesbian, and I think being here I’ve realized: ‘Oh, I’m not a lesbian, I’m queer.’ And I think that’s really cool,” she said. “I’m switching letters! I’ve dropped the L and I’ve gone to the Q baby! That’s what I love about sexuality.”
Where does Siwa’s breakup factor into it?
Some fans wondered if Siwa’s connection to Hughes had any relationship to her now identifying as queer. The speculation intensified after Siwa broke up with Ebbs at the show’s wrap party.
“I flew across the world to support and be there and hold that person in whatever they would be experiencing, leaving such a wild experience,” they said in a statement on Instagram. “Instead, I was dumped at the afterparty, with Chris [Hughes] in the next room. Which is f***ing crazy to say out loud.”
They added that they believed Siwa’s actions were tantamount to “emotional cheating” and “the overstepping of boundaries.”
