Entertainment superstar JoJo Siwa has made Dancing With The Stars history this season.
2021 has been a big year from her, including her publicly coming out as gay and debuting her girlfriend.
But young love is fleeting, and JoJo is a teenager.
She and her girlfriend have now split.
After less than one year, JoJo Siwa's romance with Kylie Prew has ended.
An inside source spoke to Us Weekly about the breakup, first and foremost to confirm it.
“JoJo and Kylie did break up,” the insider acknowledged.
“Some [Dancing With the Stars] cast are aware about the breakup," the source revealed.
Additionally, the insider offered up a little bit of context on the split: the timing of it all.
The breakup happened about two weeks ago.
“Kylie stopped attending the show," the source detailed.
"So," the insider explained, "she hasn’t been seen in the audience since they split."
That absence spoke volumes, and was part of the reason that many had wondered if the two were on the outs.
“JoJo is focusing on the competition and giving her all," the source affirmed.
"While it’s a rough time for her," the insider acknowledged, "she’s handling DWTS very professionally."
"And still putting on a smile," the source said, "and giving 100 percent."
According to the insider: "She doesn’t want to let down her fans.”
That is no surprise.
JoJo Siwa is a consummate professional who has been an entertainer for most of her life.
Fortunately, she's not going through this breakup alone.
“Jenna’s like a big sister to [JoJo]," the source says, referring to her dance partner, Jenna Johnson.
However, it sounds like JoJo being on the dance competition has "nothing to do" with the actual breakup.
Earlier this month, JoJo alluded to the breakup -- at least, that is easy to see in hindsight.
“This has been a WEEK,” she expressed at the time.
“My brain has never been so overwhelmed/overloaded," JoJo admitted, "with not only work but also personal life.”
Those of us who are adults might think of breakups as a painful event from which we must move on.
But teenagers, full of hormones and experiencing new things, often feel breakups -- and everything else -- more acutely than we do.
It's not that grownups don't have feelings, but they're not usually as intense. Plus, we have more coping strategies than an 18-year-old.
It's unfortunate that a teen -- especially a gay teenager -- has to go through a breakup in the public eye.
JoJo was more or less outed by accident in early January, as fans could no longer ignore the clues.
(Of course, she'd been setting off people's gaydar for a while, but that's a far cry from actually coming out)
It's possible that, if she had to do it all over again, she would have kept her romance with Kylie private.
But perhaps not. JoJo has yet to actually speak about this to the world, directly, though of course she knew that it would come out.
Regardless, we are so happy that she came out earlier this year. We wish her well as she moves on.