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Congratulations are in order for Keke Palmer. During her Saturday Night Live guest appearance on Dec. 3, the actress and singer blew fans away when she announced that she was expecting her first child with boyfriend Darius Jackson.
“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 said as she flung open her coat to reveal her burgeoning baby bump.
The Nope star continued:
“I gotta say, though, it is bad when people on the internet spread rumors about you y’all, but it’s even worse when they’re correct. I mean, like, I was trying so hard to keep it on the down low, ’cause I got a lot of stuff going on, you know? But honestly, this has been the biggest blessing, and I am so excited. Guys, I’m going to be a mom.”
After Palmer spilled the beans about her pregnancy news, some fans were curious to know more about the star’s mysterious boyfriend.
“I didn’t even know the father was Darius Jackson I just figured Keke Palmer was the next Virgin Mary,” one fan joked on Twitter. While another user commented. “Who the hell is Darius Jackson?”
Palmer, 29, has kept her relationship with Jackson relatively private over the last year. Here’s what we know about him so far.
Darius is an aspiring actor and fitness trainer
According to Elle, Jackson, 29, is the brother of Insecure star Sarunas Jackson. The father-to-be is busy behind the scenes working on his acting career. He’s also a part-time fitness instructor. Sarunas introduced Palmer to Darius shortly after her cameo appearance on Insecure. The two lovebirds reportedly attended a Memorial Day party with one another in May 2021. Two months later, the pair made their romance “Instagram official.”
Over the last year, Palmer and Darius have given fans a glimmer into their private relationship with a series of love-dovey posts. In August of 2021, Darius wrote a romantic birthday tribute in honor of Palmer’s birthday.
“You’ve been a blessing from above,” the since-deleted post read. “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.”
In October 2021, The Akeelah and the Bee actress sent love to her boo Darius on social media, gushing about how “nice” it was to “care for” him.
“I thought it could never happen, I can be quite guarded, but I appreciate you for being a safe space. I will always cherish what you have given me,” she added in the now-deleted post.
Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson like to keep things private
A month later, internet detectives raised an eyebrow after they noticed that the duo had scrubbed evidence of their relationship off of social media. Palmer addressed the decision during an interview on The Tamron Hall Show.
“It became more difficult to hide,” she explained 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,” she added.
In March 2020, Palmer detailed more about the importance of privacy in her relationship life with Harper’s Bazaar.
“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?” the actress shared. “Yes, I’m a hundred percent authentic, but there is stuff that I do save for family and friends.”
Congrats to Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson!
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