JoJo Siwa Recalls Gross Moment That Sparked Her 'Gay Awakening'

JoJo Siwa shared a "gross" experience on her first date with a man she says led to realizing her true sexuality. During a now-viral TikTok video, the 19-year-old Dance Moms alum explained that she first felt romantic attachments to women at 12 years old before a few years later, eventually accepting her sexual orientation.Siwa recalled how her first date with a man who "wanted to have sex" with her made her realize she liked women in a video captioned, "My gay awakening story." 

"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 and immediately knew, men are not my thing," she explained in the video. Fans speculated that the unknown man who made Siwa realize she was gay was Matty B, rumored in 2015 to be dating her. The "Boomerang" singer also revealed the celebrities who made her question her sexuality growing up. 

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♬ original sound – JoJo Siwa

"One thing about me is when I was 12, Demi Lovato came out with a song, "Cool for the Summer," I really, really liked it and I listened to it all the time."I didn't know what it meant back then, but now that I'm much older I understand and I know what it means." Siwa has previously explained Lovato's impact on her sexual orientation and even admitted it in a YouTube interview with the singer on 4D With Demi Lovato in 2021.

She said a dancer in Lovato's 2015 music video for "Cool For The Summer" also helped her realize that she might be attracted to women. "Do you remember your dancer?' Siwa asked. "Her name is Jojo Gomez and you did Cool For The Summer together… I remember seeing that and just being a little too interested."In the clip, Lovato (who uses they/them/she/her pronouns), also said the track was a way to reveal her bisexual identity without confirming it. The singer said, "When I did Cool For The Summer, that song for me was actually my way of sharing with the world without confirming that I was bisexual. Because, like I said, I didn't come out until 2017. But 'Cool for the Summer' was like 2014, 2015. So, like, that to me, it was my way of saying, 'I'm not ready to come out but...'"

Aside from "Cool for the Summer," Siwa also cited Jenna Dewan's Lip Sync Battle performance as a defining moment for her.  The 41-year-old actress and professional dancer competed against her then-husband, Channing Tatum, on the competition television show in 2016, dressing as Tatum's Magic Mike character and performing a lap dance for him. In her TikTok, Siwa confessed that she "pretty much watched [Dewan's performance] every day."  

In 2021, the social media influencer came out as part of the LGBTQ community and revealed she had been dating Kylie Prew. They split in November of 2021, and Siwa is now dating 22-year-old TikToker Avery Cyrus. Although social media users have complained about the couple flaunting their relationship on social media due to favoring Cyrus' ex Soph Mosca, the couple looks happier than ever in recent photos.