JoJo Siwa has revealed that she lived with two romantic partners by the age of 19.
In the latest episode of her iHeartMedia podcast, JoJo Siwa Now, the former Nickelodeon star spoke candidly with her podcast guest, The Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron, about her experience with moving in too quickly with a signficant other.
As the Dance Moms alum explained to Cameron the meaning of “U-haul lesbians” - the colloquial term for lesbians who move in together early on in their relationship - Siwa mentioned that she too has been known to move in with her partners within the first months of dating.
“I’ve basically had two of my partners live with me by the time I was 17 and 19,” she admitted to her Special Forces co-star. “It’s a lot.”
When Cameron asked if she’s ever felt trapped by having her significant others live with her, Siwa explained that although it feels good in the beginning, moving in together became too much in the long run. “I love it when it’s in the honeymoon phase,” the dancer replied. “But then all of a sudden I’m like: ‘Oh my God, I’m 17 and married,’ you know what I mean? It feels wrong, and it feels like she wasn’t living my life, and I wasn’t living my life. We were only trying to live together. You’re so young, and you have so much to do.”
Siwa added: “It’s tough dating. I’ve found dating to be tough. But, you know, we’re eventually gonna find something, we’re eventually gonna find someone. We’re gonna be alright.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Siwa and Cameron found themselves relating to one another’s struggles with navigating relationships in the spotlight. In 2019, Cameron briefly found himself in a high-profile relationship with model Gigi Hadid, shortly after he was runner-up on season 15 of The Bachelorette.
“I think it should definitely be private for as long as you can keep it private,” Cameron told Siwa. “Because once you make it for the public, it’s for everybody. And then everyone gets to critique it, everyone gets to try and call out flaws. And you’re gonna see it, you’re gonna think about it, you know what I mean? I think keeping it private for as long as you can.”
He went on to claim that some seemingly happy couples on social media are likely not as happy as they appear on Instagram. “I think a lot of those couples, too - like we see influencer couples and all those things - it’s mutually beneficial.”
Siwa agreed, adding that looking like a happy couple leads to “better reviews, better brand deals”. Although she revealed that she’s been in some mutually beneficial flings in the past, Siwa clarified that she’s only had “pure intentions” when it comes to serious relationships.
Siwa’s conversation with Cameron is not the first time she’s opened up about her relationship history and love life. The entertainer, now 20, recently addressed her coming out experience in the first episode of her podcast, which was released on 30 October.
“I came out when I was 17 but I didn’t understand at the time what a big deal that was. I didn’t understand why that was scary,” she reflected on the moment she publicly came out as gay. “I remember I was on the phone with my girlfriend at the time and I was like: ‘I think I want to come out to the world.’ And she was like: ‘OK, do it.’ So then I posted this picture and threw it on my Instagram Story, and that’s how I confirmed it.”
Siwa explained that she didn’t care if she lost fans because of coming out as gay, noting that she’d built her platform on being genuinely herself. According to her, pretending to be anything else would be antithetical to who she is. “I created my career off of being genuine and if you didn’t like me because on January whatever I was straight and January the next day I was gay, then you’re not meant to like me anyways. I just try to really, really be genuine, really be who I am.”
The YouTube star publicly came out as gay in January 2021, when she shared a TikTok video of herself dancing to Lady Gaga’s hit song “Born This Way”. In the clip, Siwa wore one of her signature bows - this time rainbow-coloured - as she sang along to the lyrics: “No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian transgender life, I’m on the right track baby I was born to survive.”
Siwa later confirmed that she identifies as gay when she posted a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words: “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” Following the public announcement, she told fans that she’s “never been this happy before” since coming out as gay.
