Kath Ebbs Thinks JoJo Siwa Has a ‘Trauma Bond’ With Chris Hughes

Kath Ebbs is sharing new thoughts on ex JoJo Siwa’s friendship with Celebrity Big Brother UK costar Chris Hughes.

Siwa, 21, and Hughes, 32, formed a strong bond while competing on the reality series earlier this year, with Siwa revealing to the Love Island UK alum that she no longer identifies as a lesbian, but instead as queer. Hughes also came to Siwa’s defense after fellow contestant Mickey Rourke made homophobic comments against her.

“I genuinely just thought that because of the Mickey Rouke thing, she had kind of trauma bonded a bit to Chris as he was the only one that stood up for her and didn’t gaslight her,” Ebbs, 27, shared in an interview with Betches published on Wednesday, May 14. “So I thought that was a trauma bond that had kind of gone too far because of the environment in which they were in.”

On the reality competition series, Siwa and Hughes were also shown frequently cuddling up in bed, giving each other makeovers and writing secret messages to each other, leaving some fans questioning the nature of their friendship. While Ebbs doesn’t believe any actual cheating went on between the two, they are still hurt by their closeness.

“I think my boundaries were crossed in a way that felt like a betrayal of trust repeatedly around affection,” Ebbs stated. “I believe she made a lapse in judgment, and I was obviously collateral in that, and I wish that didn’t happen because it was incredibly hurtful. But I do not believe that she had malicious intent in that interaction.”

Ebbs previously revealed that they were “dumped” by Siwa at Celebrity Big Brother UK afterparty, claiming in an April 26 Instagram video, “I was told there are confused feelings there … that they realized in the house that I wasn’t the person they wanted to spend the foreseeable [future with].”

While chatting with Betches, Ebbs admitted they have been the “most depressed I’ve been in six years” in the weeks since their and Siwa’s split. “The person who used to be my support system has not only vanished but turned against me and allowed this behavior to continue towards me,” the stated. “Everyone’s talking about me, but not to me. I feel voiceless.”

During the April 30 episode of the “Viall Files” podcast, Siwa stated that Hughes played no part in her and Ebbs’ breakup, and alleged that Ebbs “cussed” her out at the show party. Ebbs later called her claims “untrue” in a statement to Us Weekly.

As the aftermath of the exes’ split continues to play out, Ebbs told Betches that they’ve felt like a “pawn that’s been moved around in this story by Big Brother, by JoJo, by her PR team [and] by the tabloids.”

They added, “I feel really beaten around by that because it’s just not something I asked for. And I think at the end of the day, the boring headline is: I’m just heartbroken, and I’ve just gone through a really messy breakup that I didn’t see coming, and I’m in shock, and I’m picking up the pieces of my love life and of my life in that.”

In her May Us Weekly cover story, Siwa said she and Ebbs have “had a lot of talks” about their breakup drama and have “cleared it up.” She clarified, “There’s a hundred reasons why my breakup happened and I’ve talked those through with my ex and I’ve talked those through with the people in my life. And so I can confidently say I love Christopher so very much but he had absolutely nothing to do with my breakup. There’s no muddy water there at all. Zero.”