Kriti Mehrotra
It was in 2020 when everything turned upside down for sisters Dorriene Diggs and Helen Jo Diggs-Goodwin as they found themselves living together for the first time in over 5 decades. The truth is that the latter had stepped up and moved her elder sibling in after she suddenly lost her partner of 40 years in the home they shared, but what followed were daily arguments. There was a massive communication gap between the two because they had never really been close, and that’s why the Fab Five were enlisted to help them in Netflix’s ‘Queer Eye’ season 10.
Dorriene and Jo Diggs Gradually Learned to Open Up to One Another
Dorriene and Jo Diggs hail from the same big family of 18 kids but share polar-opposite personalities. The reason behind the same became clear to the experts quite quickly, as the way they described their upbringing was like oil and water — as if they had grown up in two different households. It turns out that while the former remembers a place where she was often overlooked and her feelings were hurt, her younger sister could only recall a cozy home with busy working parents.
Jo had no idea that Dorriene was treated differently owing to her sexual orientation, as per the show, which is why she ran away at the tender age of 14 and never looked back. She got in contact with some of her siblings over the years, but she was not close to any of them; instead, her support system comprised her found family and the love of her life, Diane. Therefore, when Dorriene lost the latter after four decades, it was as if her “life stopped,” driving her to call Jo in tears because she could not live in the sanctuary they had carefully built together.
Jo hadn’t hesitated to move Dorriene in with her, but the differences in the way they dealt with trauma or had conversations became obvious over time as they were having arguments daily. After all, while the latter was a clean freak set in her ways and closed off from social bonds, the former was a family woman with an innately optimistic soul who preferred a lived-in space. It took a while, but thanks to the Fab Five, the sisters found themselves having candid discussions to understand each other better and ended up with a home that was a safe space for both.
Dorriene Still Leads a Quiet Life, Whereas Jo Remains Dedicated to Her Loved Ones
Although the Diggs sisters’ experience with the Fab Five gave them a lot of hope and significantly improved their communication and relationship, they still have a long way to go. That’s because Dorriene has reportedly not been able to bring herself to talk to other family members despite Jo’s persistence in the hopes she can connect with at least their younger queer relatives someday. Nevertheless, today, they feel “wonderful and blessed by the best,” especially thanks to the beauty, interaction, and style tips they learned from Tan, Karamo, and JVN.
On a more personal level, from what we can tell, Dorriene remains deeply passionate about cooking, disco music, vintage cars, and sci-fi movies. In contrast, Jo loves rom-coms, reality television, and spending time with loved ones. The latter truly is a ray of sunshine despite the trauma she herself has endured over the past few years, especially the loss of her son James following a long battle with addiction and her own cancer diagnosis. The Washington, DC native was diagnosed in 2023, but has thankfully been in remission since the summer of 2024. Thus, it appears that her priority today is to embrace life and enjoy every single day to the fullest by surrounding herself with family.
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