JoJo Siwa Says Boyfriend Chris Hughes Changed Her View of Queerness and LGBTQ Identity

JoJo Siwa has spoken openly about her sexuality and the pressure she felt to define it in a fixed way. In a recent interview, she said that when she came out at 17, she initially identified as pansexual because, as she put it, she did not care about gender. Over time, however, she says she felt herself “boxing in” her identity by calling herself a lesbian, a choice she now believes was influenced by outside pressure.

Siwa explained that some of that pressure came from within the LGBTQ+ community itself, as well as from people she knew and from partners she had dated. She described feeling as though once she had publicly said she was a lesbian, she was expected to remain within that label. That expectation, she suggested, made her feel constrained at a time when she was still understanding herself.

“The truth is,” Siwa emphasized, “sexuality is fluid,” underscoring her view that attraction and identity can change over time. Her comments reflect a broader conversation about the complexity of sexual identity and the different ways people experience and describe it across different stages of life.

She also said that meeting Chris, 33, helped her better understand the extent of her own fluidity. While she did not elaborate in detail, she made clear that the relationship was meaningful in helping her recognize that her feelings and identity do not fit neatly into one permanent category.

Siwa’s remarks highlight the tension many public figures face when their personal identities become part of a public narrative. Coming out can be an important moment of self-expression, but she suggested that it can also create new pressures when others expect that identity to remain unchanged. For Siwa, the experience appears to have been one of learning, revisiting assumptions, and allowing space for personal growth.

Her comments are likely to resonate with others who have struggled with labels or felt uncertain about how to describe their sexuality. By speaking candidly, she added her voice to ongoing discussions about identity, self-definition, and the limits of rigid categories.

The interview reflects a more nuanced understanding of sexuality, one that emphasizes change, self-discovery, and honesty over fixed labels. Siwa’s message was clear: people should be allowed to define themselves in ways that reflect who they are at any given time, without feeling trapped by what they said in the past.