Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson: A Complete Relationship Timeline

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Things aren’t looking good between new parents Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson.

Though Palmer has wavered over how much of her relationship she wants to share with the public, the Hollywood triple threat had shown nothing but respect and adoration for the fitness instructor on social media. “It’s so cringy writing a birthday post for you because the love is so sacred,” Palmer wrote of Jackson in January 2023. “It almost feels asinine to try to share or give a glimpse into something that only we could understand. I can share most things so easily, but not you.”

However, Jackson didn’t mind using Twitter to air his grievances with the mother of his child. In July 2023 the fitness instructor shocked Palmer’s fans when he publicly shamed the Nope star for wearing a sheer dress to an Usher concert. He then removed all photos of Palmer from his social media feeds, per Page Six.

Like the Big Boss she is, Palmer proceeded to post a series of stunning photos of her look on Instagram. Sorry to this man….

Here’s a complete timeline of Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson's relationship.

May 2021: Palmer and Jackson meet at an Insecure after-party hosted by Diddy. Palmer appeared on the popular HBO series, while Jackson’s brother Sarunas Jackson played the role of Alejandro “Dro” Peña. “I walked up to him,” Palmer will later say on The Terrell Show in June 2023. “My best friend was like, ‘You should just say something to him. You should ask if he wants a drink.’”

And later on in the show: “Here’s the thing. He’s very fine. But he has that personality where it’s like, Do you know you’re fine? When I walked up to him, I was not looking for love. I was looking for a roster, you understand? And so I was like, ‘He fits the physical bill.’ But when I talked to him…he was such a sweetheart. I think what I saw was he’s just a sweet guy.”

August 2021: The pair go Instagram-official, with the Nope star sharing a kissing photo among others from her 28th-birthday party. “It’s the details for me. Nobody was on they phones, we had that before MySpace feeling…. I’m so happy,” she captioned the post, which was later deleted. “Awesome Birthday, so grateful.”

October 2, 2021: The pair are photographed looking loved up at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Los Angeles.

March 17, 2022: Palmer opens up about going public with her relationship in an interview with Bustle. “I just think [this] was a moment in time in my life where I really stepped into this kind of boss behavior [of doing] whatever the hell I want to do,” she says. “This is the happiest I’ve ever felt with someone. So why would I go out of my way to hide this person? That’s a lot more work than just living in my life and being in my life. You know what I’m saying?”

December 4, 2022: Palmer reveals she’s pregnant while hosting Saturday Night Live.

December 24, 2022: Jackson kisses Palmer’s baby bump in a sweet Instagram Boomerang. “Mom n dad,” he wrote over the Instagram story, per People.

January 21, 2023: Palmer posts a sweet birthday tribute to Jackson.

January 28, 2023: Palmer shares a series of baby bump portraits featuring herself and Jackson as the “King and Queen” with a little “prince” on the way. “A long time ago, in a land not so far… The King and Queen got together to play,” she captions the Instagram post. “The play turned to love as many sunsets passed by. Now there’s a prince, who’s soon to arrive!”

The pair host a “Once Upon a Baby” extravaganza the same day the portraits were taken, with various partygoers sharing photos and videos from the baby shower—including a video of Palmer and Jackson getting down to Beyoncé.

February 3, 2023: Palmer shares the story of how she found out she was pregnant on an episode of her podcast, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer. She says she took a pregnancy test on a “random” whim, tossing the test in the trash when she thought it was negative. Later, Palmer gets “a text from Jackson, and he says, ‘When did you take this?’ And it’s a picture of the pregnancy test and it’s positive,” she related. As it turns out, Palmer didn’t wait long enough for the test to fully develop. “I’m like, ‘I took that earlier today, like literally just some hours before I left out.’ And he said, ‘Well, you better get to be drinking water in your sight. ’Cause I’m buying 10 of these things right now. You take them all when you get home.’”

February 25, 2023: Palmer and Jackson welcome their first child, a son named Leodis Andrellton Jackson.

April 29, 2023: Palmer and Jackson pose with baby Leo at the closing night screening of her Big Boss documentary at the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival.

July 4, 2023: Palmer tweets, “Not tryna be the person but… I love my man. (PERIODT!)”

July 5, 2023: Jackson seems to publicly shame Palmer on Twitter over the sheer dress she wore to a Usher concert in Vegas. “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom,” Jackson writes in response to a video of his girlfriend being serenaded by the singer.

After facing major backlash, he doubles down with a second tweet, writing, “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.”

He continues, “This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case.” (The tweets have since been deleted.)

July 6, 2023: Palmer appears unbothered by Jackson’s tweets, posting a series of photos of her ’fit on Instagram, writing, “I wish I had taken more pictures….”

Meanwhile, Jackson seems to briefly deactivate his Twitter and Instagram, per Page Six.

July 7, 2023: Though Jackson is back on social media, Page Six reports that all photos of Palmer have been removed from his Instagram feed. Palmer and Jackson don’t follow each other on the app.

Meanwhile, Palmer pulls an Ariana Madix and drops some well-timed merch seemingly inspired by the drama. “One thing is certain and one thing is true, IM A MOTHA, through and through! 😍,” she captioned an Instagram video serenading her son to “Isn’t She Lovely,” by Stevie Wonder. “‘IM A MOTHA’ and ‘Stevie to the bullshit’ shirts available NOW! Link in bio :).”

According to Complex, “Stevie to the bullshit” refers to a quote she made during an episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, which featured Jackson. The “I’m a Motha” crewneck retails for $45 and runs from a size XS to 3XL, while the “To the Bullshit” tee is selling for $30 in two colors.

If that wasn’t enough of a response, Palmer also shares a TikTok with a new memeable audio. “You ain’t stopping what’s going on with me, sweetheart,” she says. “So if you gon act up, I’m bouta link up.”

She captions the dance video, “Ayeeeeeee get into this mixxxx.”

July 12, 2023: Fans notice that in an episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer recorded before all the drama (but posted to YouTube later), Jackson addresses the pressures of a relationship in the spotlight and his pressure on Keke, saying, “You almost feel that pressure of needing to be perfect. And so it really confused me and infiltrated my mind because not only did I have to hold myself to that perfect standard, I was also holding you to a perfect standard as well…So, any moment of flaw on my side or on your side it was World War III because it's like….” Per People, Palmer added, “And now the world sees us.”

August 16, 2023: Palmer stars in the music video for Usher's new song “Boyfriend.” Lyrics include, “Somebody said that your boyfriеnd’s lookin' for me. / Oh, that’s cool, that’s cool. / Well, he should know I’m pretty easy to find. / Just look for me wherever he sees you.”

August 26, 2023: Jackson and Palmer go live on Instagram while celebrating her 30th birthday. “D, thank you for taking me out on my birthday as always,” Palmer said to Jackson in a clip shared by Pop Crave. “I mean, it’s not always my birthday but you always do take me out. But I just thank you for making it special for my birthday, that’s so sweet.”

During their live stream, Jackson refers to Palmer as his “partner in crime,” while Palmer seems to hint at a possible reconciliation. “Get into the Virgos and admit that Virgos are the one,” Palmer jokingly tells Jackson. “It’s already too late, your Virgo already has you hooked.”

September 4, 2023: Palmer and Jackson attend Beyoncé's Renaissance tour together in Los Angeles.

September 25, 2023: Palmer tells Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to “mind y'all's business” when they ask about her relationship with Jackson.

“Not y’all trying to get into it! They trying it on the Today show,” Palmer joked when the subject was first brought up on Today With Hoda & Jenna. When the hosts say they just want to know if Palmer is “happy,” the singer replies in the affirmative. However, when she's pressed on whether she's grateful “for the relationship” she responds, “I’m not trying to be specific!”

Still, Hager attempts to get to the bottom of things by flat out asking whether the couple are together, to which Palmer responds, “I’m going to take a page out of my girl Beyoncé’s book: Mind y’all’s business.”

Watch here:

November 9, 2023: Palmer makes the decision to file for a restraining order against Jackson and request sole custody of Leodis, the eight-month-old son they share. She is granted both.

In court documents reviewed by People, Palmer accused Jackson of domestic violence on multiple occasions over the course of their two-year relationship—which, she further noted, “finally ended for good” in October “primarily due to the physical and emotional abuse [he] inflicted.”

Palmer went on to specifically cite a November 5 incident in which Jackson “trespassed into my home without my knowledge or consent” and “threatened” her before “lunging for my neck, striking me, throwing me over the couch, and stealing my phone.” Palmer also recalled Jackson “destroying my personal property, including diaries and prescription eyeglasses, throwing my belongings into the street, throwing my car keys to prevent me from driving away, 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.”

December 9, 2023: Palmer tells fans her “life is truly unraveling” in an Instagram post that appears to target fan conspiracy theories that her breakup with Jackson is a part of some elaborate PR strategy. “When reality TV makes everyone believe all celebrities lives are just one big marketing strategy,” she captioned an Instagram video holding her son Leo while dressed in a red robe. “But my life is truly unraveling at the seams and I just wear trauma like a [Dolce & Gabbana] coat bc Sharon didn't raise no b****.”

This post may be updated.

Originally Appeared on Glamour