- Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson met at a party in 2021 and dated on and off.
- The two welcomed their first child, son Leodis Jackson, in February 2023 and split in October that year.
- Palmer wrote about their “unhealthy relationship” in her new memoir, “Master of Me.”
Keke Palmer is reflecting on her “unhealthy” relationship with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson and why it had to end.
“I can’t explain why it went the way it did, but what I do know is that one of us had to put an end to it existing as it was, or there could’ve been a big mistake that would’ve irreversibly affected both of our lives,” Palmer wrote in her new memoir, “Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative,” released Tuesday.
The end of Palmer and Jackson’s relationship came after a tumultuous year for the former couple. Jackson, who is the father of Palmer’s son Leo, made headlines in July 2023 after criticizing Palmer’s outfit choice in a since-deleted post on X. Then, in November 2023, Palmer was granted a temporary restraining order against Jackson, alleging that Jackson was physically abusive to her, according to documents viewed by Business Insider.
Here’s a complete timeline of Jackson and Palmer’s relationship.
Jackson and Palmer first met at a party in 2021
Jackson is the brother of “Insecure” actor Sarunas Jackson, who appeared as Alejandro “Dro” Peña on nine episodes of the HBO show from 2017 to 2021.
Darius Jackson is an aspiring actor who’s also worked as a fitness trainer. According to Palmer, she and Jackson first met “very casually” at an after-party for “Insecure” in 2021, after the “Nope” star had a cameo on the Issa Rae series.
“I walked up to him. My best friend was like, ‘You should just say something to him. You should ask if he wants a drink,'” Palmer said in a June 2023 appearance on “The Terrell Show.”
“When I walked up to him, I was not looking for love,” Palmer added. “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.”
Palmer said in a declaration for her November 2023 restraining order against Jackson, viewed by Insider, that they’d started dating in June 2021.
Jackson and Palmer dated on and off before welcoming a baby in February 2023
The pair appear to have been in an on-again, off-again relationship since they first met in 2021, with both Palmer and Jackson deleting romantic Instagram posts about the other in 2022.
In one of the since-deleted posts, from August 2021, Jackson praised Palmer on her birthday while also publicly announcing their relationship.
“Never would have expected summer 2021 to turn out the way it did, but here we are. 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 wrote in the caption, per People.
In November 2021, Palmer spoke about her decision to go public with the relationship, despite being a private person.
“It became more difficult to hide. 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,” she told Tamron Hall during an appearance on the host’s talk show.
Palmer continued to gush about Jackson in a profile by Bustle’s Sylvia Obell published in March 2022.
“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,” she told Obell.
In December 2022, Palmer revealed her pregnancy while hosting an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” telling audience members in her opening monologue: “People have been in my comments saying ‘Keke’s having a baby, Keke’s pregnant.’ “And I want to set the record straight — I am!”
The star then opened her coat to reveal her baby bump, to cheers and applause from the audience. “This has been the biggest blessing and I am so excited,” she added.
While Palmer didn’t initially confirm that Jackson was her baby’s father, Palmer later mentioned him when she spoke about the early stages of her pregnancy during a February 2023 episode of her podcast “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer.”
She found out she was pregnant after Jackson discovered a positive test in their trash. Palmer said she had taken the test after “randomly thinking” she could be expecting, but apparently didn’t wait long enough for the result, and mistakenly assumed she wasn’t pregnant. (Jackson, for his part, clarified on the podcast that he wasn’t looking through the trash for the test, but rather found the positive result after Palmer threw it away.)
Palmer and Jackson welcomed son Leodis Andrellton Jackson sometime in late February 2023. A couple of days after the birth, they announced the baby’s name and shared photos of the newborn on Instagram.
In June of that year, Palmer paid tribute to Jackson with a sweet Instagram post for his first Father’s Day, calling him the “best dad ever.”
“Leodis and I are so very happy to have such a fun, kind, responsible, dependable and supportive man like you in our lives. It’s so wonderful to see the kind of loving father you are, but I’m not surprised,” Palmer wrote at the time, adding: “God bless you darling, thank you for being in our lives. WE LOVE YOU!”
In July 2023, Jackson came under fire for comments about Palmer’s clothing
The controversy involving the father of Palmer’s child began on X in early July, after Jackson reacted to a clip of Palmer being serenaded by Usher at a Las Vegas concert.
In the clip, Palmer was seen wearing a black bodysuit with a sheer black dress over top.
“It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom,” he tweeted in response to the video. Jackson later doubled down on his comments as online criticism of him mounted, 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. This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case.”
Palmer, for her part, didn’t directly respond to the comments, instead sharing more photos of herself in the outfit to Instagram on Wednesday evening.
“I wish I had taken more pictures,” she wrote in part in the caption.
Palmer also released “I’m a motha” merchandise online following Jackson’s comments.
“To all my mom’s out there, how did your baby change you?? Mine empowered me!” she wrote on Instagram. “On such another level, my perspective changed because when my baby is good I’m GREAT! Look at that face! Gratitude galore.”
At the time, Jackson’s social media accounts appeared to have been deleted or disabled.
In August 2023, Palmer seemingly referenced Jackson’s comments in Usher’s music video for ‘Boyfriend’
In Usher’s music video, Palmer was seen wearing a white bathrobe and getting glammed up for a night out with friends. Later in the video, Palmer and Usher bumped into each other at a casino, wearing the same outfit.
In a plot twist, at the end of the music video, it was revealed that Palmer actually overslept and missed out on the fun.
“Dammit, I missed the show,” she said after answering her ringing phone.
“Shit, I’m so tired. I’m a mother after all,” Palmer added, knowingly winking at the camera.
At the time, People magazine reported that Jackson had “moved on” but was still co-parenting with Palmer. Entertainment Tonight reported that they’d broken up “shortly after” he critiqued her concert outfit.
Jackson responded to reports on X, writing in a since-deleted post: “I haven’t spoken to anyone about anything or gave permission to anyone to speak for me..”
“So all these sites & post about me making any type of statement is false..” he added.
Palmer celebrated her 30th birthday with Jackson in August 2023
The couple appeared to reunite for Palmer’s birthday on August 26, although it was unclear if they were completely back together.
“D, know you’ve been taking me out on my birthday as always. I mean, it’s not always my birthday but you always do take me out,” Palmer said to Jackson during an Instagram live captured by Pop Crave. “But I just thank you for making it special for my birthday, that’s so sweet.”
Jackson also called the actor his “partner in crime” during the livestream.
He honored her with a now-deleted post on X (formerly known as Twitter), by sharing a video of a makeup-free Palmer playing with their son.
“Happy Birthday to a one of a kind being. Hoping your 30s brings you many joys & triumphs!” he captioned the post.
Palmer was granted a temporary restraining order against Jackson in November 2023
In the filing requesting the restraining order, viewed by Business Insider, Palmer said that her romantic relationship with Jackson had “finally ended for good” in early October. She alleged that Jackson was physically and emotionally abusive to her on several occasions throughout their relationship. Palmer said that in the most recent incident, Jackson trespassed in her home on November 5 and “physically attacked” her, knocking her down and pinning her to her couch.
Palmer also said in the restraining order filing that Jackson had on previous occasions destroyed her personal property, threw her car keys to stop her from leaving, hit her and used profanities about her in front of their son, and threatened to kill himself with a gun if she left their relationship. Palmer described another incident in February 2022, where she says Jackson choked her and body slammed her onto the stairs.
Palmer was granted temporary sole custody of their son and Jackson is not allowed to visit his son until otherwise ordered by the court.
Jackson, for his part, shared a cryptic post on X around the time news of Palmer’s restraining order broke.
“I love you, son. See you soon,” Jackson captioned a photo of him and Leodis.
At the time, representatives for Palmer and Jackson didn’t respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Palmer wrote about her relationship with Jackson in her memoir, ‘Master of Me’
In her book, Palmer writes about Jackson’s reaction to her appearance at Usher’s concert, calling it “unexpected.”
Palmer explains that she’s an entertainer, and the person that fans know is an extroverted persona she created to protect her more introverted self and create a boundary.
“The truth is that my son’s father didn’t realize I was holding a boundary between the audience and me,” Palmer says.
Elsewhere in the memoir, Palmer says she was in a “genuine relationship” with Jackson, but it became “something unhealthy.”
“The relationship was no longer bringing out the best in either of us,” she writes, adding that she didn’t want her son to see their relationship as a model or “grow up in an unhappy, unhealthy household.”
Palmer says that she’s no longer angry with Jackson and doesn’t regret their relationship. “I love him so much as a human being even though things will never be the same, but maybe that’s the point,” she writes.
Referencing their legal issues, the actor says, “The fallout of our relationship, especially through the court system, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.”
“But I knew no other way to bring order to the situation for both of us because it had truly gotten above me,” Palmer says. “I didn’t want people to hate him or think he was crazy and judge his entire character on the worst aspects that I experienced. But, most importantly, I didn’t want my son to think his father is a monster, because I don’t.”
Palmer spoke about co-parenting with Jackson and said she’s ‘grateful’ for the point they’ve reached
“I gotta be honest, I would’ve never thought that I would be where I am now, and so I’m very grateful that this has now been the outcome and we’ve been able to coexist in this way and show up for our son, and just be in a different place,” Palmer said during an appearance on “CBS Mornings” with Gayle King on Tuesday. “It’s a real blessing,”
Libby Torres contributed to an earlier version of this story.
