JoJo Siwaand her mom Jessalynn are like two peas in a pod.
JoJo, the 18-year-old dancer, singer and internet sensation, and her mother have remained extremely close since they were first introduced to audiences on reality television hitDance Momsback in 2013.
Now, the pair have their own Peacock competition series, titledSiwas Dance Pop Revolution, and according to Jessalynn, it’s been a dream opportunity to get more mother-daughter quality time.
“The best thing about working with my daughter is, honestly, just spending time with you,” the proud parent, 46, tells PEOPLE.
“One thing I realized filmingSiwas Dance Pop Revolutiontogether is we got to spend every day together and normally we don’t get to,” Jessalynn says. “That was 10 hours every single day you were actually forced to be with me on set, have lunch with me, ride to work with me… now that you’re older, that time has become more valuable.”
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For JoJo, having that maternal support during every step of her career has been an asset as she went from YouTube personality to global brand, having just finished second on Season 30 ofDancing with the Stars.
“The thing I admire most about my mother is that when she’s right, and when she knows she’s right, she doesn’t back down,” she raves. “She will stand her ground and she has this famous saying: ‘Is this the hill that I want to die on?’ And when it’s the hill that she wants to die on, she sticks to it and I really admire that.”
The mom of two says that inspiring confidence translates through her daughter’s popular social media content and reaches her millions of followers.
“The one thing I’ve learned about social media from my daughter is to put it out there, be yourself,” Jessalynn adds. “I remember times when I would say to you, ‘JoJo, you don’t have to tell the world everything,’ and you’re like, ‘But I love to!’ It’s really cool because you are unapologetically yourself and you let people just know that you’re real.”
While the two spend a significant amount of time working together, JoJo admits her favorite things to do as a mother-daughter pair is hanging out in the kitchen and making blueberry muffins out of the box.
“It’s nothing fancy,” she explains, adding that her mom is also the person who has given her the best two pieces of career advice. “One is, find some fire and keep going, and two is, turn your laptop off and stop working. Both of those things are very important and it’s very important to have a balance of ‘you need to stop’ and ‘you need to keep going.'”
“I steal your white hoodie, I steal your nail-clipper, I steal q-tips, curling iron.” Jessalynn interjects, “My blow dryer, my wand — you steal a lot of my things actually, which is good because then I feel cool.” She adds that there is one item in her daughter’s closet she would love to don herself: “If it fit me and if I was like not going anywhere, it would be the rainbow dress from the opening of the D.R.E.A.M. Tour.”
JoJo, whosplit from girlfriend Kylie Prewin October after nine months of dating, points out that it’s her mom who had the best advice to get through her recent breakup.
“The one thing my mom taught me about love was that sometimes you’re okay without it,” she says, cutting herself off there before she got emotional.
Even when battling heartbreak, Jessalynn instills one important message in her daughter. “Just be you,” she says, adding, “It started when you were younger and you always said, ‘Everyone else is taken, just be yourself,’ and that’s really important for everyone.”
She also wishes she could pick up dances as quickly as her celebrity child. “The one dance move I wish I could do like my daughter is so many ballroom steps, " Jessalynn says. “I also wish I could learn all the TikToks like you do.”
When JoJo asks her mom if she wants to be a TikTok-er, she responds, “I mean, if I was younger I would want to be, but I’m cool with not right now.”
Ultimately, JoJo feels most like her mom when it’s really important: when she has to stand up for herself. “When somebody is being a little bit of a wiener and I have to go off on them, I feel just like my mom,” she mentions. “But sometimes I feel bad and I become a sad puppy and I cry and I got the sympathy route.”
Jessalynn jumps in as any mother would saying, “And then I just take care of it.”
source: people.com
