Chris Hughes says his relationship with JoJo Siwa is “tricky” because they live in the U.K. and the U.S., but he insists it’s easier than people assume—especially after a visit for her 23rd birthday and ahead of their one-year anniversary on May 27.
Chris Hughes didn’t pretend it’s easy. Not with the Atlantic between them.
The former Love Island U.K. contestant, 33, is opening up about dating JoJo Siwa, 23, while they live on different continents. The couple met during their respective stints on the U.K.’s Celebrity Big Brother in April 2025, and they’re marking their one-year anniversary on Wednesday, May 27.
In an interview with the Daily Mail on Wednesday. Hughes admitted the logistics can be “tricky” when he’s based in the U.K. and Siwa lives in the U.S. He also shared that he had just returned from visiting her for her 23rd birthday on May 19 after “a number of months apart. ” calling it the “longest time we’ve been apart” since they made their relationship official last year.
“It is tricky, but it’s not as tricky as people think,” the reality star said. “Before the last couple of months, we’d see each other every month, one way or another, whether she be over here [in the U.K.] or I go out there, so it’s never as strenuous as people think.”
Hughes described how visiting can feel like more than just planning around schedules. “I think when you can jump on a flight and get yourself out there. if you’ve got the ability to do that and you’ve got the time. then it’s a lovely thing. really. ” he said. “I kind of embrace it in the respect that I love going over to America. I love spending time with her and her family and the dogs. and it’s obviously very different to being in the U.K. but I kind of like that.”.
When they are apart. he acknowledged missing each other is only natural—but not necessarily in the way outsiders might imagine. “Obviously, yes, you miss each other. That’s very normal. Like, it would be stupid if you didn’t. But it’s not as physically demanding or as stressful, I think, [as] what people would think it would be.”.
Siwa has described her side of the same distance problem. including the daily rhythm that can make even a quick conversation feel complicated. In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in April. the “Karma” singer said long-distance “friendships are a beast” and “family is a beast. ” calling a long-distance relationship “the beast of all beasts. ” but adding. “But it’s very worth it. Not for everybody, but for me, with Chris, and for Chris with myself.”.
Her biggest challenge, she explained, is time zones. “The biggest challenge for me: we have an eight-hour time difference, because it gives us like a six-hour window that we’re both awake. We’ve gotten used to that,” Siwa said.
The harder moments come when the timing cuts across real life. “The thing that is trickier to navigate. is when I’m just waking up. ready to check my phone. have a sweet call. text for a little bit. that’s the middle of his day. You’re not on your phone, you’re out doing things, working, or with friends. That’s the thing that’s hard to navigate.”.
At night, she said it flips—only to create another mismatch. “At night it’s the same thing. He’s in bed on his phone, ready to go to sleep, ready to talk for a little bit. I’m just in my day, active and I’m busy.”
Their story now sits in that in-between space: the affection that keeps them moving forward. and the practical friction that shows up when travel plans don’t line up. After a longer stretch apart than usual. Hughes’ visit for May 19’s birthday and the anniversary on May 27 bring the focus back to the same question fans have been tracking since their relationship went public last year—how they keep it going across continents. one window of time at a time.
Chris Hughes JoJo Siwa long distance relationship Celebrity Big Brother Love Island U.K. Karma singer one-year anniversary May 27 May 19 Daily Mail Us Weekly U.K. and U.S. dating