- Keke and Sean were spotted on a dinner date, spending over an hour and a half together.
- The pair have a history of flirting on Keke’s podcast and during her Hot Ones appearance.
- Keke’s mother approves of the potential match, noting their different backgrounds.
Are Keke and Sean really giving it a go?!
Fans have been shipping Keke Palmer and Sean Evans for a while now, and just when it seemed like all hope had been lost, the pair was spotted together on a dinner date in New York City.
Per reports from TMZ, the actress and the Hot Ones host were spotted having dinner together at Italian restaurant Lucali in Brooklyn on Friday night. According to an eyewitness, Keke and Sean spent over an hour and a half at the upscale restaurant and were completely “locked in” on each other the entire time.
While the singer and the media personality didn’t appear to engage in any PDA, the source went on to tell TMZ that Evans seemed “smitten” by Palmer (Who wouldn’t be???).
This will they, won’t they romance has been bubbling up for years now. Evans admitted during his 2023 appearance on Chicken Shop Date that he has had a crush on one of his own show guests: Keke Palmer.
Speculation of a real romance skyrocketed back in May 2026, when they flirted heavily during an episode of her Baby, this is Keke Palmer podcast. She started the episode by introducing Sean as her “potential future suitor.”
Keke’s mother, Sharon Palmer, opened up about watching her daughter interact with Evans and said it was a “great moment” because somebody from Evans’ “rich” neighborhood in Illinois wouldn’t typically hang out with someone from Palmer’s Robbins, Illinois area.
“This is great. This is how life should be,” she gushed during the episode. “The guy from Crystal Lake should be sitting next to the girl from Robbins.”
“I love that. Shoutout to Mr. and Mrs. Evans … your parents,” Keke said, to which Sean replied, “Oh, I thought you were talking about us.”
The I Love Boosters star has been on Hot Ones several times in the past. In 2025, they went viral with a surprise kiss during her appearance.
“I saw an interview where you said, like, I was your favorite guest, and all this really sweet stuff,” Keke said to him.“I know we’ve just had some wings, but I thought that maybe we could just have a quick smooch to see if there’s a spark.”
They leaned in for the kiss, as Keke gushed, “The sparks are sparking!” Sean added, “When I’m dying, and my life flashes before my eyes, I’ll have that snapshot.”
A lot of people assumed the pair was playing it up for the cameras, but now that they’re sharing dinner together in real life, a romance just may be developing!
Neither Keke nor Sean have commented on their joint outing or the ongoing dating rumors.
