Everything JoJo Siwa Has Said About Her Coming Out Journey

JoJo Siwa has never been happier since coming out and going public with now-ex-girlfriend Kylie Prew before their October 2021 split. The former Dance Moms star revealed in January 2021 that she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. At the time, Siwa uploaded a photo in which she was wearing a black t-shirt that read, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” After coming out, the Nickelodeon star received support from her celebrity friends, including Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington and Jamie Lynn Spears, among others. She also hosted an Instagram Live that was flooded with positive comments from her millions of followers. “Personally, I have never, ever, ever been this happy before and it feels really awesome,” Siwa told viewers. “I’ve been happy for a little bit now. It’s just so, so, so awesome.” Shortly after coming out, the “Kid in a Candy Store” songstress appeared on a February 2021 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and revealed that she had “the most amazing, wonderful, perfect, most beautiful girlfriend in the whole world" at the time. [jwplayer Zx3feHkl-zhNYySv2] While speaking with host Jimmy Fallon, the singer explained that “10 minutes before” she was “crying” on the phone with Prew. “She’s like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ And I was like, ‘I’m just so happy because now I get to share what makes me the happiest with the world, and it makes my heart so happy,’” she recalled. At the time, Siwa kept her significant other’s identity under wraps, but eventually shared that the Florida teen was the one who had stolen her heart. The duo met on a cruise ship and eventually went from being best friends to something more. “We were just hanging out and then I was like, ‘Woah, this girl is fun,'” Siwa said during an interview with J-14 in December 2020 about the first time they met. “I was like ‘You are insane, and I love you to death.’ So, I met my best friend last year on Christmas Eve, actually.”

However, Us Weekly confirmed in October 2021 that the J Team star and Prew had called it quits on their romance after less than one year of dating.

“We officially broke up the morning that I did the Prince Charming number on Dancing With the Stars,” Siwa exclusively told Us one month later. “It’s been a few weeks and it’s been tough, but we’re getting through it. … We’re going to go back to being friends.”

Since coming out, the YouTube star has continued to speak openly about her sexuality and refuses to let the haters get her down. “People are going to say it’s not normal, but nothing is normal,” Siwa said in a January Instagram Live. “Literally not one thing about anybody is normal and it’s OK not to be normal, it’s OK to be a little different, it’s OK to be a little weird, strange, different. That’s something we should never, ever be afraid of. That’s something we should be proud of. … I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, that’s what matters.” Scroll through the gallery below to see what Siwa has said about coming out and her relationship:

In January 2022, the teen star reflected on how her life has changed since coming out publicly one year prior. "In the last 365 days I’ve felt more love than ever. A year ago today I posted this picture and shared with the world that I was gay🌈," she wrote via Instagram. "I get asked a lot 'was coming out scary for you' … and the answer is yes of course, anything that’s different about you is scary, however … it’s what makes me … me. so I had no fear with sharing it with the world❤️."

The DWTS alum added that she believed she was "put on this earth to be a role model for kids," and coming out doesn't change that mission. "Letting all the kids of the world know that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share❤️ please never forget that no matter who you are, what you look like, who you LOVE that you are absolutely perfect,” she concluded. “Thank you for showing me the most love throughout this year and throughout my entire life. I love you all❤️🙏🏼🏳️‍🌈."

In January 2021, Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

“My cousin got me a new shirt,” she captioned a social media post of her wearing a top that read, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.”

JoJo addressed labeling her sexuality during an Instagram Live in January 2021.

“The reason I’m not going to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer. I think humans are awesome, I think humans are really incredible people,” the musician explained. “Right now, I’m super-duper happy and I want to share everything with the world, but I also want to keep things in my life private until they are ready to be public. Right now, what matters is that you guys know that no matter who you love, that it’s OK.”

When celebrating their one-month anniversary in February 2021, Siwa introduced her girlfriend to the world.

“After being my best friend for over a year … I got to start calling this exceptional human my girlfriend,” she wrote on Instagram about Prew. “Since then, I’ve been the happiest I have ever been! She seriously is the most loving, supportive, happiest, protective and just the most beautiful perfect person in the world. And I get to call her mine!”

Since Siwa lives in California and Prew lives in Florida, the duo have a long-distance relationship. The “D.R.E.A.M.” songstress addressed this on Instagram.

“Reading comments on my last post and you guys were confused about why I was crying on my last Story,” Siwa shared in April 2021. “I just want to clarify, nothing happened, we just are long distance, and we had to say goodbye today and I’m sad.”

Since coming out, fans have called Siwa a “gay icon,” which she thinks is “the biggest honor.”

"About a year ago, I started having all these music meetings just for fun, just getting my head where I want to go,” she told Entertainment Weekly in June 2021. “And I told the producers, 'I want to create gay pop, and I want to have a concert for the girls and for the gays.' Turns out a year later, I am very much so gay."

Siwa and Prew had a romantic date night during June 2021 to celebrate their five-month anniversary.

“It’s time to celebrate being who you are and LOVING who YOU wanna LOVE!!” Siwa shared via Instagram. “It really has been the best 5 months of my life truly being exactly who I am and finding love has been the best part of it all. I love this human so much. I’m so happy.”

The Dancing With the Stars season 30 contestant gushed over being called a “gay icon” during a November 2021 appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

“It’s wild to me because I look at people who are called gay icons — [DeGeneres], Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury, my favorite people — and to be in that category at 18 is just insane,” she said at the time. “And just because of who I am, it feels amazing.”

She continued, “I am so happy with the outcome of me coming out. The world has taken it so positively, and it’s impacted so many young kids in such a way that hearing adults say, ‘I wish I had someone like you when I was little,’ that makes me know the kids that are little have someone like me, too.”

In October 2022, the former Nickelodeon star recalled her “gay awakening” via the TikTok trend “One Thing About Me.” 

In the clip, Siwa opened up about loving Demi Lovato’s 2015 hit “Cool for the Summer,” putting Jenna Dewan’s Magic Mike performance on Lip Sync Battle on repeat and a first date with a man. 

“A couple years later, a man was my first date and he wanted to have sex with me and I did not want to — never wanted to, grossed out by the thought of it,” she explained. “Immediately knew men are not my thing. Women are my gig. Gotta go.”

“2 years ago today ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜,” Siwa captioned a photo of her initial Instagram post about being gay while celebrating her personal anniversary in January 2023. “Now looking back on everything ... I’m SO proud of 17 year old JoJo.”

“STORY TIME: January 2021. I come out to the world. The company I work for told me they needed to have a meeting w/ me ASAP,” Siwa captioned a March 2023 TikTok video, declining to name the organization in question. “During this meeting, the PRESIDENT of the company negatively asked me 'What are you gonna tell your young demographic.' I took a second to process what I was just asked, and then, I replied, 'THE TRUTH.’”

She added: “I've never seen a man roll his eyes so far in the back of his head. It was silent so I started talking again. I said, 'I'm not gonna hide who I am and who I love to anyone, ESPECIALLY to the next generation.' However, since I came out SO many adults say to me 'I wish I had someone like you when I was younger.' Which reminds me every time that I did the right thing and to never let ANYONE change who you are.”