Keke Palmer Stuns Fans With Baby Bump Reveal While Hosting 'SNL'

Hollywood star, Keke Palmer shocked fans with the big revelation that she is expecting her first child while hosting the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live." While the actress is known for keeping her love life under the radar and away from public scrutiny, she has been anything but private during her over-a-year-long relationship with American footballer Darius Jackson.

They announced their relationship in mid-2021 and have gone on to talk about each other affectionately on social media and during interviews. Pregnancy rumors about Palmer started after her appearance at the CFDA awards in November.

The "Joyful Noise" actress joined 'SNL' in a recent episode as the show's one-time host. During her opening monologue on the sketch comedy series, the actress addressed and confirmed pregnancy rumors. She revealed, quite literally, that she was expecting her first child with her boyfriend, Jackson.

Palmer started her monologue by talking about how excited she was about entering the Sagittarius season. She also referenced her acting debut in the 2006 "Akeelah And The Bee." The actress soon switched topics to how there have been speculations about her being pregnant.

She said, "There's some rumors going around. 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." She then pulled open her blazer to reveal her very obvious baby bump.

The actress' revelation met with loud cheers from the crowd, and she disclosed how much she tried to keep it quiet. Palmer said, "You know, 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 was trying so hard to keep it on the down low because I got a lot of stuff going on," she continued. "You know, people kept coming up to me, 'Congratulations,' and I'm like, 'Shhh, can y'all stop? I got a liquor sponsorship on the line."

Palmer described the pregnancy as "the biggest blessing" and admitted that she was really excited about it. "I'm gonna be a mom!" Not long after her announcement, Jackson took to Instagram to confirm that he was the father by sharing a picture of the actress cradling her baby bump. The post was captioned "2023" with a red heart emoji.

While concluding her monologue, Palmer expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to be the 'SNL' host of the day. She admitted that she had always dreamed of being on that stage, particularly when she first got into comedy.

"Y'all know I'm the same person I've always been, and I'm proud of that. As a matter of fact, when I first got into comedy, and I dreamed of standing on this stage, I asked myself, Keke, who will you be?' she said. "And now that I'm here, I can tell you exactly who I am. I'm Keke Palmer!"

Rumors of the artist's pregnancy started swirling after her appearance at the CFDA awards in November. Palmer seemed to try to hide the bump under her billowy Carolina Herrera ball gown, but eagle eyes spotted the "pregnancy glow" regardless.

Following her appearance on 'SNL,' fans flooded that star with positive comments. One happy fan wrote, "Keke Palmer energy is so positive, we don’t even care about who what when where or why she’s pregnant… we’re just happy for her."

Palmer and Jackson made their relationship public in August 2021 but has remained mostly private. Since getting together with him, the actress has gushed nonstop about the footballer calling the relationship "the happiest" she has ever felt with someone.

According to Page Six, the couple met via Jackson's brother, Sarunas, who Palmer briefly co-starred with on "Insecure." In a long-deleted Instagram post, the athlete wrote, "You've been a blessing from above. Never would have expected summer 2021 to turn out the way it did, but here we are."

Jackson went on to express how happy he was that they were supportive of each other in both their high and low periods. Palmer was not left out of the heartfelt messages and, in March, revealed that she felt very happy with him.

"This is the happiest I've ever felt with someone," the actress told Bustle. "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."