In case you occurred to have missed the actually wild cultural reset when Keke Palmer introduced her being pregnant Saturday Night time Stay, allow us to remind you: it. Was. iconic. And never solely did it shine a lightweight on the actor’s new bundle of pleasure, but it surely additionally made folks (me) curious to study extra about Keke’s previous pal, Darius Jackson.
Whereas the 2 have stored their relationship comparatively low-key since first courting in 2021, true followers can see that these two are tremendous in love. The truth is, throughout a March 2022 interview with Rush, Keke gushed, ‘That is the happiest I’ve ever felt with anybody. So why would I am going out of my approach to cover this particular person? That is much more work than simply dwelling my life and being in my life. You realize what I imply?”
Love this for her! For the curious amongst us, let’s get into every little thing there’s to learn about Darius, we could?
Keke’s boyfriend is actually ~sporty~
As in, whereas I used to be attempting to do subject analysis to check whether or not French toast tastes higher in several dorm rooms, Darius was right here enjoying soccer at Fresno State College.
And his curiosity in sports activities by no means light. It even drove him to pursue a profession in sports activities media, finally going to highschool for a certificates in broadcasting, per Individuals. Now, Darius is a health teacher at Encourage Health Studio, the place his objective is to “assist others and himself keep in form whereas having fun with being in a team-oriented atmosphere,” based on the studio’s web site.
His brother is an actor
Sure, speak about an iconic enjoyable truth! Darius’ brother is actor Sarunas Jackson, and you might acknowledge him as a result of he performed Alejandro “Dro” Peña on HBO’s hit present Insecure from 2017 to 2021. Cute little household picture, incoming:
Watch Insecure now!
And here is an image of them each, simply because:
…that is how he met Keke
Seems each Darius and Keke have a connection to Insecure finally led to their meet-cute. Keke – who made a quick cameo on the sequence throughout a Season 5 episode – and Darius first met at a 2021 Memorial Day social gathering hosted by Insecure creator and star Issa Rae and rapper Diddy. And the remaining is actually historical past!
Darius and Keke began courting in 2021
And by that August, the 2 formally took to Instagram (eep!) and the health teacher even devoted a candy tribute to his girlfriend on her birthday that 12 months in a since-deleted put up, per Individuals.
“By no means anticipated the summer time of 2021 to go like this, however right here we’re,” Darius started. “I am glad we have been capable of assist one another by our lowest instances and present one another that what we convey to the desk is all we have got.”
Within the years since, Kiki has actually returned the favor by penning this emotional caption for Darius’ birthday this 12 months:
“I can simply write lengthy emotional messages for all my ladies birthdays however it’s so scary writing a birthday message for you 
They’re v non-public
However that is an vital aspect of any relationship Keke is in! In March 2020 — lengthy earlier than she began courting Darius — the actor spoke to Harper’s Bazaar on why she likes to maintain her courting life low-key: “I do not actually do relationship stuff on-line, primarily as a result of I do not know the way I might do it with out wanting tacky or one thing, you already know?” she confessed to the publication. “Sure, I am one hundred pc genuine, however there are issues I do preserve for household and associates.”
Quick-forward to November 2021, and Keke opened up The Tamron Corridor Present about how she’s slowly turn into extra okay with being public about her romance with Darius. “It acquired tougher to cover,” she mentioned when she selected to put up footage of her boyfriend. “We spend all this time collectively, and he actually is my finest pal, so it simply turns into one thing the place I am not going to cover something that makes me comfortable. It will not be every little thing you see, my work is my work, however on the finish of the day that is somebody who’s vital to me, so why not.”
Proof that love actually does change every little thing, of us! 
He and Keke welcomed a child boy in February 2023
I imply how may you neglect the enduring Saturday Night time Stay second when Keke introduced her being pregnant throughout her opening monologue in December 2022?!
“There’s been some rumors going round, folks have mentioned in my feedback, ‘Keke is having a child, Keke is pregnant’, and I need to set it straight – that is me!” exclaimed the actor as she unbuttoned her coat to disclose her rising child bump to the dwell viewers – and the world for that matter. Let’s look once more for the ~mems~, we could?
Quick ahead a couple of months later, and Keke and Darius’s bb, Leodis Andrellton Jackson, was born on February 25, 2023. And since she is aware of learn how to give the folks what they need, Keke confirmed followers the photographs of “child Leo on her Instagram a couple of days later:
Since then, Darius has additionally posted tons of content material, not solely from himself and Keke (aka “mother n dad” – iconic), but additionally from their son:
TL;DR: Get Issa Rae’s quantity ASAP so she will be able to use her magic once more!
Assistant information editor
Gretty Garcia is the assistant information editor at Cosmopolitan, the place she covers all issues information, leisure and popular culture. Earlier than becoming a member of Cosmos, Gretty was social strategist for Ms. Dow Jones and editorial and particular initiatives editor at Editorialist. She has an MS from Columbia Journalism College and studied artwork historical past at Harvard Faculty.
