Keke Palmer has a lot of love for her baby boy.
The Emmy award winner welcomed her first child, son Leodis “Leo” Andrellton, on Feb. 25, 2023, with her ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson.
Since welcoming Leo, the actress hasn’t shied away from posting about him on social media. Between silly videos and heartfelt tributes, Palmer has been relishing in motherhood.
“Mommy’ing is coming along if you were looking for an update. I have juggled quite a few careers but this is my greatest gig of all,” Palmer wrote on Instagram in March 2023. “I will never be the same again, but if you thought I was a bad mama jamma before, you can’t imagine the greater purpose my son has given my life!”
In November 2023, Palmer filed for sole custody of Leo — claiming that Jackson physically abused her on several occasions. The exes, who are in a better place according to the actress’ book Master of Me, now share joint custody.
While talking to PEOPLE in August 2024, Palmer said that she tries to take Leo “every-single-where I go” so that she can maintain the “closeness” she has with her son so far.
“The grace of a career like mine — and, obviously, his age — is just that he can be with me,” she said. “So I’m grateful for that. I think I wanna just continue to be able to just do that and have him with me and do things together and make sure that he feels part of my life and sees what I’m doing.”
Read on for everything Palmer has revealed about her baby boy, Leo.
His name has a special meaning
Palmer revealed her baby’s name on Instagram when she announced the news of his arrival. “Born during Black History Month, with a name to match,” she wrote in the caption, adding, “LEODIS ANDRELLTON JACKSON, welcome to the world baby Leo.”
Palmer previously teased the special meaning behind her baby’s name during an episode of her podcast, Baby, This is Keke Palmer. “We’re not saying the name, but the name for us — it gives American,” she said at the time, per Essence. “It gives Black American storyline. We want it to just be like — we’re not going for anything too unique. It’s not about to be Stone and Sand. It’s just like a nice natural [name].”
He was “manifested” into the world
Prior to Palmer’s pregnancy reveal during her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live in December 2022, she “joked” about being pregnant on April Fool’s Day a few months earlier. One year later, the actress spoke about the passage of time in a heartfelt Instagram post on April 2.
“And to think! Just last April fools I ‘joked’ about being preggers … we manifested you little buddy! I love hanging with you and you just be looking crazy like a caveman. 🥹🤣😍😘” Palmer captioned a video of her dancing around to “Slide” by Sada Baby with little Leo laying on her chest.
“He already tired of me,” she playfully concluded.
Palmer has called him a “warrior”
When the actress was 31 weeks pregnant, she opened up about her journey to motherhood on Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang’s podcast Las Culturistas, telling the comedians that she’s been feeling “good” as she awaits her baby’s arrival.
“I think that my baby is like a warrior or something like that. Because I’ve been good, y’all,” she said at the time. “I’ve had no nausea — like I’ve had moments where I’m like [gagging], where I’ll just be sitting there and it’ll make me feel that way. But I won’t actually throw up, I won’t actually run to the bathroom.”
She went on to express her excitement at becoming a first-time mom, noting that she “thinks about it every day.”
After Leo’s baby shower in January, Palmer chatted with PEOPLE about the “excitement” of meeting her son and why his celebration was “Once Upon A Time” themed.
“Right now, I feel like I’m living in a fairy tale!” Palmer told PEOPLE exclusively. “I’m a huge Disney fan because of how aspirational and sweet their stories are. I want to create a world like that for my baby, a world in which all things are possible.”
He’s Palmer’s “twin”
Palmer shared a cute side-by-side post, comparing her then 5-month-old son to a throwback photo of herself on Instagram. “THE LIES END TODAY,” she captioned the photo uploaded in July.
“#KandiFace 🤣 I’m done! This seals it all, we not the same complexion but the FEATURES ARE THEREEEEEEE. I rest my case!” She concluded, “My baby is my twin now stop being colorstruck and get into the actual face 🤣🤣🤣🤣.”
He has given Palmer “confidence and empowerment” as a mom
Speaking on stage at the Howard Theatre in July, Palmer revealed how becoming a mother to Leo has given her a “sense of freedom” and boosted her confidence.
“I was really always preoccupied on the low key of my body and then after I had a baby, it kind of freed me in a way where I just didn’t care as much and so the fact that I didn’t care, it made me just have an ease and a comfortability and a love for myself in a way that I didn’t have before,” she said. “And it just gave me a sense of freedom that I can’t describe, where I’m not afraid, because it’s like, this is what I have, this is who I am.”
Palmer continued, “I never would have imagined that my son would have given me such a deep confidence and empowerment to just really be like, ‘Yo, we about to do this.’ “
He and Palmer celebrated his first Halloween with coordinating costumes
For his first Halloween, Leo went as scientist Henry Frankenstein, and Palmer dressed up as the bride of Frankenstein.
“He gave me LIFE,” she captioned photos from their spooky photoshoot.
Palmer and Jackson share joint custody of Leo
Palmer filed a restraining order against Jackson and filed for sole custody of Leo in November 2023. According to court documents, Jackson allegedly “hit” Palmer and “spew[ed] profanities” at Palmer in front of their son.
“The abuse during our relationship was not just physical, but emotional and manipulative,” the filing for the restraining order read. “Darius would ‘love bomb’ me and make me feel like I was the most important woman in the world, only to get extremely distant and cold over a perceived insult to him.”
In her book Master of Me, Palmer said the very public ordeal with Jackson was the “hardest thing I ever had to go through.” A court-ordered mediation led the exes to settle amicably on a joint custody agreement.
“I wish I could say he was terrible the entire time or that I was … but it wasn’t that black-and-white and that was the problem,” Palmer wrote. “I didn’t want my son to think his father is a monster, because I don’t.”
Palmer says it takes a “village” to raise him
During an interview with Teen Vogue, Palmer emphasized that she relies on her “village” to raise Leo. The actress and her son currently live with Palmer’s sister.
“The village is really important,” she said. “It’s more about keeping Leo insulated with the people that I know and trust, that don’t just love him, but love themselves. That’s really big.”
Palmer continued, “It’s important that he has good examples. He observes everything. It’s about giving him the proper role models and making sure my family is around.”
Source: People
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