Trigger Warning: The article contains references to harassment and physical and emotional domestic abuse.
Keke Palmer maintained a private relationship up until she fell for Darius Jackson. Nearly two years before they welcomed their first child, Palmer fell in love with Darius Jackson; however, their romance ended in 2023.
The actress revealed she was expecting their first child in December 2022, after the couple went public with their relationship in mid-2021. As the separated couple grabs headlines once again, let’s take a look at how their relationship blossomed and later fell apart.
Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson’s relationship timeline
August 2021
The couple got together at the beginning of 2021, just before Jackson showed up at Palmer’s 28th birthday celebration. The pair kissed and cuddled during the celebrations in party photos that were posted to the former child star’s Instagram in August.
December 2022
In her Saturday Night Live monologue, Palmer confirmed the rumors, which in turn fueled speculation that she was expecting her first child.
February 2023
Palmer made the announcement that she had given birth to her son Leo earlier in the month, on February 27.
July 2023
The former member of Scream Queens, along with her friends, attended Usher’s Las Vegas performance, where Palmer looked stunning in a sheer black gown. But Jackson was not fond of her appearance. “We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is,” Jackson wrote, doubling down on his criticism.
Palmer retaliated by posting images of herself wearing the divisive ensemble to her Instagram page and writing, “I wish I had taken more pictures but we were running late.”
August 2023
Following their dramatic relationship, news of Palmer and Jackson’s split surfaced in August 2023. Jackson tweeted at the time, calling the reports “false” and saying, “I haven’t spoken to anyone about anything or given permission for anyone to speak for me.”
In the music video for Boyfriend, which Palmer and Usher co-directed, Palmer made fun of Jackson. At what time is it? I was behind on the show, damn it. I am extremely exhausted. She jokes in the video, “I’m a mother after all.”
November 2023
Palmer filed for Leo’s exclusive legal and physical custody in November 2023. In the filing, she stated that during their relationship, Jackson had engaged in “many instances of physical violence.”
A few of the acts she claimed to have committed are “hurling my belongings into the street, hurling my car keys to stop me from driving away, destroying my personal property, including diaries and prescription eyeglasses, hitting [me] in front of our son, spewing profanities about me to our son, threatening to kill himself with a gun if I left him, harassment, and other physical and emotional abuse.”
On Tuesday’s episode of Baby, This is My First Date, the singer and actress opened up about how her upbringing caused a “rude awakening” as she entered the dating scene.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is struggling with abuse, please reach out and report about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
