Yahoo Finance Who Is Keke Palmer's Boyfriend? All About Darius Jackson
Keke Palmer and her boyfriend Darius Jackson are parents!
The couple welcomed their son, Leodis "Leo" Andrellton Jackson, on Feb. 25, 2023.
Just a few months prior, while hosting Saturday Night Live on Dec. 3, the actress, 29, announced the exciting news that she was pregnant with her first child.
Then, during an appearance on The Tonight Show, Palmer revealed that the couple were having a baby boy.
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The couple have kept their relationship fairly private since they were first linked in 2021, only stepping out for a handful of events together, but Palmer did tell Bustle she wasn't trying to hide anything: "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."
Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty
From details about his relationship with Palmer to his career background, here's everything to know about Jackson.
His brother is Insecure actor Sarunas Jackson
Jackson's brother Sarunas J. Jackson is an actor, like Palmer. He is well known for playing Isaac Hall on Good Trouble and Alejandro 'Dro' Peña on Insecure, in which the actress previously had a guest-starring role.
He's been dating Keke Palmer since 2021
The couple reportedly met in May 2021 at a Memorial Day party hosted by Issa Rae and Diddy. That August, the two went "Instagram official" as Jackson paid tribute to Palmer on her birthday.
"Never would have expected summer 2021 to turn out the way it did, but here we are," he wrote in the since-deleted post. "I'm glad we were able to help each other throughout our lowest of times & show one another that what we are bringing to the table is everything that we got."
He and Keke Palmer are private about their relationship
Gregg DeGuire/Getty
In March 2020, before dating Jackson, Palmer spoke to Harper's Bazaar about why she likes to keep her dating life private.
"I don't really do relationship stuff online, mainly because I don't know how I would do it without looking, like, cheesy or something, you know?" she told the outlet. "Yes, I'm a hundred percent authentic, but there is stuff that I do save for family and friends."
In November 2021, Palmer opened up on The Tamron Hall Show about her decision to go public with her relationship with Jackson. "It became more difficult to hide," she said of choosing to post photos with Jackson at the time. "We spend all this time together, and he really is my closest friend, so it just becomes a thing where I'm not gonna hide something that makes me happy."
"It's not gonna be everything you see, my job is my job, but at the end of the day this is somebody that is important to me so why not," Palmer added.
He's a fitness instructor
Jackson works as a fitness instructor at Inspire Fitness Studio. Per the fitness center's website, "his motivation to be an instructor is to help others and himself to stay in shape as he enjoys being in a team oriented environment. It is also where he feels comfortable to be himself."
He played football in college
His Inspire Fitness Studio bio also states that Jackson grew up competing in multiple sports and earned a football scholarship to Fresno State University. Growing up in the sports world also "motivated him to get into sports media where he is currently pursuing his career in & received a certificate in broadcasting," per the website.
He and Keke Palmer welcomed a son in February 2023
Leodis Andrellton Jackson was born on Feb. 25, 2023. Two days later, Jackson and Palmer introduced "baby Leo" to the world on Instagram.
"Hey Son!!!! Born during Black History Month, with a name to match 😄!" Palmer captioned images and videos from the first "48hrs" of being a parent.
While hosting Saturday Night Live on Dec. 3, 2022, Palmer announced that she was expecting her first child.
"There's some rumors going around, people have been in my comments saying, 'Keke's having a baby, Keke's pregnant,' and I wanna set the record straight — I am!" Palmer exclaimed, unbuttoning her long jacket to reveal her growing baby bump on the Studio 8H stage.
Jackson later celebrated the news when he shared a sweet photo on his Instagram Story of the Nope star from a dinner outing with the caption, "2023 ❤️."
On Jan. 3, 2023, Palmer shared photos from her tropical babymoon with Jackson. She posted a snap of herself holding her bump as well as a picture of the pair smiling in front of a plane.
In the caption, the actress explained that she's trying to slow down during her pregnancy. "I am antsy by nature. I love having a schedule, even on vacation. I learned to at least schedule things leisurely so I have something to complete that's on brand with the theme of the season," she wrote.
Later that month, Palmer revealed the gender of her baby in a very subtle way on The Tonight Show.
"So, my baby is either going to be a Pisces or an Aries, I'm not sure exactly," she said. "Pisces are known to be deep, very emotional creatures, so I just want to make sure I'm not too blunt for my baby boy. Sometimes I can be a little too 'tell it like it is.' I need to just wade in the water with a Pisces, just wade in the water. Keep it chill, child."
