Metro Weekly

Icona Pride

Icona Pop's Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo are ready to give and feel love at Capital Pride

Icona Pop

Icona Pop

(Photo by George Harvey)

MW: So you don’t get tired of each other? You don’t get on each other’s nerves?

HJELT: No.

JAWO: Not at least now. And we’ve been hanging out —

HJELT: — for four years. And we’ve been sharing a bed in London, and in Sweden. I think it’s because we have such huge respect for each other.

JAWO: Uh-hmm.

HJELT: It’s just very [comfortable]. If you’re having a day where you don’t feel like talking, we can hang out for three days without talking. And sometimes we’re talking all the time. It’s all about feeling each other’s energies, and having a lot of respect for each other. We never fight. We can discuss stuff.

MW: Well, obviously with your career the way it is right now, it’s hard to have a love life. But it sounds like it’s probably also hard because you’re always together. It makes it difficult. Are you able to find time for dates?

HJELT: The only thing we’re not sharing is a guy! [Laughs.]

JAWO: Yeah. I would say the same. We do — you make time for love. If you find someone, which we’ve done a couple of times, sometimes it doesn’t work out, but you make time. And of course it’s hard because you’re never at the same place [very long].

HJELT: But if you [dwell on] how hard it is, and how hard it’s going to be to find someone, then you make it hard. You just have to be very honest to your feelings and to the other person, because you don’t have the time. You just have to be like, ”Hey, I like you, do you want to hang out?”

JAWO: ”Hey, I love you!” [Laughs.]

HJELT: ”Hey, I love you, do you want to marry me?” [Laughs.]

MW: Well, do you want to get married? Do you want to settle down and have kids?

JAWO: Definitely one day. But now I would feel trapped. I love babies and children. But not right now.

HJELT: No, now is not the time. But in the future, when things might be a little bit more calm, and I have my shit together, then I’m going to have kids.

JAWO: A lot of babies!

HJELT: Yes. But we’ll have to have them at the same time: between albums. [Laughs.]

MW: Can either of you imagine doing this without the other?

JAWO: No, that’s not an option. I’m so happy that Caroline is with me because there are so many times when we only have each other, and we can always discuss anything. And I’m just so happy that we’re doing this together.

HJELT: I could never, no, I could not —

JAWO: — imagine —

HJELT: — imagine doing it without Aino.

JAWO: There are so many times that you spend just waiting on stuff. Waiting at airports. There are so many decisions that you have to make, and it’s so nice to be me and someone else.

HJELT: When it’s fun stuff as well. [But] especially, I mean, when you’re going through something that is just so hard for other people to understand, then you have each other and you can talk about it — like, do you remember that time when we met that crazy blah-blah-blah, fill in the words. You have someone to share it with.

MW: You’re describing your relationship as if you were each other’s life partner, even soul mate.

JAWO: Yeah!

HJELT: Yeah, but it is like that. It’s a very functional relationship. [Laughs.] It’s very healthy.

JAWO: And un-sexual.

HJELT: It’s not sexual though.

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