JoJo Siwa's life looks all happiness, sunshine and rainbows from the outside, but the YouTube star has admitted her fame has got in the way of her enjoying some 'normal' experiences when it comes to sex and dating.
JoJo wasn't even 10 years old when she was thrust into the spotlight in dancing competitions and later on Dance Moms, and attention around her only grew when she joined YouTube and started creating regular content for her millions of fans.
Her journey might be many kids' dreams, but during an interview on the We're Having Gay Sex podcast the now-19-year-old explained she's had to give up a lot along the way.
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"I’m very behind in the world of love, because most people go to a freshmen dance and they go with a date," she said.
"They go to homecoming with a different date. And then they go to prom 14 times... and they have a summer fling, and they have their hook up in the car in the school parking lot."
Having never had 'any of that' herself, JoJo described feeling like an 'eighth grader in love land'.
She might share a lot of her life online for fans, but there are still some things which are nice to keep to yourself - something that proves difficult when you're likely to be recognised wherever you go.
"It’s hard for me. It’s hard for the person I’m dating or talking to, because I can’t do things. Like how most people can go on a dinner date, I can’t go on a dinner date normally," JoJo said.
It's not just 'normal' dating that JoJo has missed out on, as she went on to claim she has no idea what 'normal' teenagers do in the bedroom. Or rather, out of it.
"Any time I’m away from house, I’ve only had sex in my own room or hotel room," JoJo said.
"I don’t really know what normal teenagers do but I’m assuming it happens [in a] bathroom stall - wherever - but because of who I am, I can’t do that."
The YouTube star received a lot of support after she opened up about her experiences, or lack thereof, with many saying she deserves 'the right to be an adult' and that people need to 'let her grow up'.
Others said her experience was 'relatable to many queer people', with one saying they were 22 and 'don't know anything'.
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Celebrity
Emily Brown