Keke Palmer’s Baby Daddy Darius Jackson Joined The Army With Plans To Do 20 Years

According to a new video circulating social media, Darius Jackson, Keke Palmer‘s ex-boyfriend and the father of her son, has enlisted in the U.S. Army. A livestream clip involving Jackson, 30, and a few others surfaced on Sunday (Dec. 8), with him explaining his plans in the service. Jackson shares that he signed a four-year contract but contemplates completing 20 years. “I’m four right now because I have some plans after this,” says Darius. “But I want to see how my experience is… I don’t know yet.”

The information surrounding Darius Jackson’s enlistment is vague. He does mention his son in the conversation with plans to stay in the service to supply him with future benefits. “I paid attention in that finance class,” he said when it was brought up that children get benefits for 20 years of service. “I was thinking, ‘I see why people just go ahead and do it… I’m indecisive right now, tho.” Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson broke up in November 2023. They co-parent their son born in February 2023.

In October, Keke Palmer detailed her “unhealthy relationship” with Jackson to People. “There was a lot going on,” she reflects. “The relationship had become unhappy and unhealthy.” After establishing joint custody of their son, she shares a new different perspective on the relationship. Reflecting on the experience, she writes in her book, “I wish I could say he was terrible the entire time, or that I was. But it wasn’t that simple.” Her goal, she says, is to ensure her son grows up with a balanced understanding of his parents. “I didn’t want my son to think his father is a monster—because I don’t.”

Palmer stars in the upcoming comedy film One of Them Days, co-starring SZA. The film, which features Kat Williams and is produced by Issa Rae, will hit theaters nationwide on January 24. SZA promised a new album in 2024.