• People reported, citing an unnamed source, that Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan have broken up.
• Carpenter and Keoghan never confirmed a romantic relationship, but it was rumored they were dating.
• Here's a timeline of their relationship.

Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan's suspected yearlong relationship could be over.

Carpenter and Keoghan never confirmed widespread rumors that they were dating, but they seemed to acknowledge them when the actor appeared in one of her music videos.

On December 3, People reported, citing unnamed sources, that the pair were taking a break from their relationship.

Representatives for Keoghan and Carpenter did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Both Carpenter and Keoghan's popularity suddenly spiked in 2024.

Keoghan's leading role in 2023's "Saltburn" took his fame to new heights, while Carpenter's star rose thanks to slots in Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and Coachella, plus her hit summer song "Espresso" and latest album "Short n Sweet."

Here's what to know about the pair.

September 2023: The likely first meeting, at a fashion show.

In September 2023, Keoghan and Carpenter attended a fashion show hosted by Givenchy during Paris Fashion Week.

E! News and DailyMail.com previously reported that this is when the rumored couple first met.

December 2023: A report of a date.

On December 3, 2023, DailyMail.com published pictures of Keoghan and Carpenter together and reported they went on a dinner date in Los Angeles.

Fans were confused by this news since Keoghan had yet to confirm whether he had split from longtime girlfriend Alyson Kierans. The pair have a son, Brando, and there were unconfirmed reports that the couple split in July 2023.

In January 2024, Keoghan mentioned Kierans in a cover story for GQ magazine in a way that suggested they were more co-parents than partners.

"She's done a great job, and she's an incredible mother," Keoghan said.

January 2024: Keoghan reportedly goes on another date with Carpenter.

People reported, citing unnamed sources, that Keoghan and Carpenter went on a date to Luna Luna, an art exhibit in LA, on January 15.

A witness told People that the pair kissed during the date. Neither addressed the dating rumor.

February 2024: Keoghan and Carpenter spend time together during a Grammys afterparty.

A month later, Carpenter and Keoghan attended W Magazine's Grammys afterparty separately, but W reported that they hung out together inside.

"Meanwhile, Barry Keoghan chatted with friends as Sabrina Carpenter perched on his lap," a W staff member wrote.

The magazine also shared a picture of the pair on Instagram.

Later that month, People reported that Carpenter and Keoghan went on two more dates in LA.

March 2024: Keoghan and Carpenter become more open about dating but do not confirm rumors.

In March, Carpenter performed her last few opening-act shows for Swift's Eras Tour.

During one of Carpenter's performances in Singapore, fans noticed Keoghan in the crowd and shared videos of him.

Then, on March 10, several outlets reported that Keoghan wore a friendship bracelet with Carpenter's name on it to the Oscars.

Later in March, Carpenter refused to comment on the dating rumors during an interview with Cosmopolitan, dodging a question about her dating life.

"The relationships that I actually want to put my energy into have to be so interesting or invigorating because they take me away from the other things I love," Carpenter said. "So yeah, it's fun and it's messy. I think I'm still just at this place where I'm really enjoying the newness of all of it."

April 2024: Carpenter references "Saltburn" at Coachella.

In April, Carpenter performed on both weekends at the 2024 Coachella music festival.

During the first weekend, Keoghan was in the crowd, and fans shared multiple videos of him recording Carpenter or dancing to her songs.

In a video shared on social media, Carpenter seemed to wave toward Keoghan in the crowd during her performance.

Later in the day, fans posted a video on TikTok showing Keoghan and Carpenter hanging out with Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce.

During the second weekend of Coachella, Carpenter made a reference to Keoghan's hit film "Saltburn" during her performance.

During the outro for Carpenter's song "Nonsense" from her 2022 album "Emails I Can't Send," Carpenter normally ad-libbed a funny, risque verse.

That time she sang: "Made his knees so weak he had to spread mine / He's drinking my bath water like it's red wine / Coachella , see you back here when I headline."

The "drinking my bath water" line seemed like a reference to a scandalous scene in "Saltburn," where Keoghan's character drinks bathwater after it has been used by the man he is obsessed with.

May 2024: Carpenter and Keoghan make their red carpet debut.

On May 6, Keoghan and Carpenter arrived together at the 2024 Met Gala, making their first joint appearance on a red carpet.

After the event, Vogue published a video of the pair getting ready for the gala. In the clip, Carpenter is happy to see Keoghan when he walks in, and Keoghan appears to lean in for a kiss.

May 2024: Keoghan threw a 25th birthday party for Carpenter.

A few days later, Carpenter celebrated her 25th birthday.

People reported, citing an unnamed source, that Keoghan threw her a party on May 11 in Brooklyn.

The party featured a cake with Leonardo DiCaprio's face and the caption: "Nooo don't turn 25 [you're] so sexy aha." This refers to the internet joke that DiCaprio is only attracted to women under 25.

Later in the month, Carpenter traveled to the UK for the BBC Radio 1 Weekend music festival.

Fans think they saw Keoghan backstage in a video of Carpenter's performance — pointing to a blurry figure in purple that resembles him.

June 2024: Keoghan appears in the video for Carpenter's new single.

Carpenter took on the dating rumors in the best way possible — casting Keoghan as her criminal boyfriend in her latest music video.

In the video for "Please Please Please," which received more than three million views in its first 14 hours, Keoghan plays a convict who keeps getting locked up for violent crimes.

In the first verse, Carpenter seems to tease Keoghan's identity, signing: "I heard that you're an actor, so act like a stand-up guy."

In the second verse, Carpenter appears to reference her initial attempt to keep her relationship with Keoghan private.

"And we could live so happily, if no-one knows that you're with me — I'm just kidding, but really," she sings.

In the video, Carpenter's character falls for him at first sight and dates him after he is out of prison. However, their relationship goes wrong because he keeps bringing her along whenever he commits a crime.

At the end of the video, Carpenter handcuffs Keoghan and puts tape around his mouth before kissing him.

August 2024: Carpenter calls Keoghan "one of the best actors of this generation."

On August 6, Variety asked Carpenter about Keoghan's appearance in the "Please Please Please" music video in its cover issue interview.

Carpenter did not give any details about their relationship but had a lot of praise for Keoghan.

"I don't want to sound biased, but I think he's one of the best actors of this generation. So getting to see him on the screen with my song as the soundtrack made the video better and all the more special," she said.

Carpenter also said Keoghan was a fan of the song.

"He loved the song. He's obsessed with the lyrics, and I'm so grateful for that," she said.

December 2024: People report that the couple have split

In the days following People's report, a rumor spread on social media that Keoghan had cheated on Carpenter with an LA-based influencer.

The rumor began after Deux Moi, the blind-item gossip account, shared an anonymous message that said an "A-list singer who's having her breakout year and her foreign boyfriend are done for good" because the boyfriend cheated on her with a "blonde, semi-famous, LA based influencer (who's particularly big on TikTok)."

Fans believed the post was about Keoghan and Carpenter and thought Brekkie Hill was the other person involved.

UNCONFIRMED reports are circulating that Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan have broken up after Barry allegedly cheated on Sabrina. pic.twitter.com/F9addTGS8d

— Pop Flop (@PopFlopHQ) December 3, 2024

Keoghan deleted his Instagram account on December 7 and wrote in a statement on X: "My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don't respond to. I have to respond now because it's getting to a place where there are too many lines being crossed."

Keoghan said people had turned up where his son and grandmother live.

Carpenter has not said anything about the breakup reports or cheating rumors.

Please be respectful
x pic.twitter.com/N03eHAIbC8

— Barry Keoghan (@BarryKeoghan) December 7, 2024

• Adrienne Uthe, 32, got engaged to her partner a few months into dating.
• A few years into being engaged, they decided against marriage but stayed together.
• Uthe, an entrepreneur, said the risk of divorce made her worried about the future of her business.

I met Eric on Bumble over six years ago, after I moved to Salt Lake City from the Midwest. It took us about a year to officially get together; we were both dating around for a while.

Eric, who is 13 years older than me, proposed a few months into our dating, which completely took me by surprise. He had gone through a difficult divorce, both financially and emotionally, and told me he was very hesitant about ever marrying again. He said I was the only one he was willing to take that risk for. I said yes.

A few years later, we ended our engagement — but are still together. While we both respect marriage, we ultimately decided it wasn't for us. The risk of divorce was legally and financially too much. Even though we get jokes and questions sometimes, we're happy just being together without the paperwork.

I changed my mind because of my business

We have an age-gap relationship. We each had fully independent careers and accomplishments before we started dating.

I've always been about business and feel like I was put on this earth to build things. I own three companies, including a PR firm I founded. I've worked so hard and been so careful to get where I am as an entrepreneur. Eric, meanwhile, is a financial speaker and instructor who's traveled all over the world.

Beyond the emotional benefits of getting married, we didn't see any clear upsides from a business perspective because we're both self-employed. While marriage comes with some tax benefits and can protect assets for some people if they separate, divorce can also get very complicated when you own your own businesses like we do.

Disentangling our lives, if it ever came to that, would be costly and energy-draining.

While we wanted to merge our worlds, what was most important to us was safeguarding what we've each built and keeping it secure on both sides.

After talking it over, we decided to end our engagement and keep our finances 100% separate while still remaining together.

The risk of divorce doesn't feel worth it

We're pretty non-traditional; even if we were to get married, we would do something casual like a Las Vegas ceremony. Eric, who was raised in Utah, got married around 20 because it was the norm. Now that we're older, he and I are more concerned with doing what feels right for us.

In the time we've been together, we've seen multiple close friends navigate divorce. It's made us firmer in our decision to stay together without marriage; we don't believe in pushing ourselves toward something we don't want.

We tell people we're like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who have been together for 40 years but never married. Their reasons for not marrying are just like ours: they never want to deal with an ugly divorce.

We still don't know what to call each other

Introducing each other always feels tricky. "Fiancé" isn't accurate, but "girlfriend" doesn't cut it, either.

Eric had two sons in his previous marriage; one of them has lived with him full-time. I helped parent him and act as his stepmother, even though I'm legally not. He even calls me his stepmom. I feel like I've earned more of a title than "girlfriend," but I also know it's just a word.

Our connection feels stronger than a piece of paper. We wake up each day and choose each other not out of obligation, but because we genuinely want to.

• Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson met at a party in 2021 and dated on and off.
• The two welcomed their first child, son Leodis Jackson, in February 2023 and split in October that year.
• Palmer wrote about their "unhealthy relationship" in her new memoir, "Master of Me."

Keke Palmer is reflecting on her "unhealthy" relationship with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson and why it had to end.

"I can't explain why it went the way it did, but what I do know is that one of us had to put an end to it existing as it was, or there could've been a big mistake that would've irreversibly affected both of our lives," Palmer wrote in her new memoir, "Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative," released Tuesday. 

The end of Palmer and Jackson's relationship came after a tumultuous year for the former couple. Jackson, who is the father of Palmer's son Leo, made headlines in July 2023 after criticizing Palmer's outfit choice in a since-deleted post on X. Then, in November 2023, Palmer was granted a temporary restraining order against Jackson, alleging that Jackson was physically abusive to her, according to documents viewed by Business Insider.

Here's a complete timeline of Jackson and Palmer's relationship.

Jackson and Palmer first met at a party in 2021

Jackson is the brother of "Insecure" actor Sarunas Jackson, who appeared as Alejandro "Dro" Peña on nine episodes of the HBO show from 2017 to 2021.

Darius Jackson is an aspiring actor who's also worked as a fitness trainer. According to Palmer, she and Jackson first met "very casually" at an after-party for "Insecure" in 2021, after the "Nope" star had a cameo on the Issa Rae series.

"I walked up to him. My best friend was like, 'You should just say something to him. You should ask if he wants a drink,'" Palmer said in a June 2023 appearance on "The Terrell Show." 

"When I walked up to him, I was not looking for love," Palmer added. "I was looking for a roster, you understand? And so I was like, 'He fits the physical bill.' But when I talked to him... he was such a sweetheart. I think what I saw was he's just a sweet guy."

Palmer said in a declaration for her November 2023 restraining order against Jackson, viewed by Insider, that they'd started dating in June 2021.

Jackson and Palmer dated on and off before welcoming a baby in February 2023

The pair appear to have been in an on-again, off-again relationship since they first met in 2021, with both Palmer and Jackson deleting romantic Instagram posts about the other in 2022.

In one of the since-deleted posts, from August 2021, Jackson praised Palmer on her birthday while also publicly announcing their relationship.

"Never would have expected summer 2021 to turn out the way it did, but here we are. I'm glad we were able to help each other throughout our lowest of times & show one another that what we are bringing to the table is everything that we got," he wrote in the caption, per People.

In November 2021, Palmer spoke about her decision to go public with the relationship, despite being a private person.

"It became more difficult to hide. We spend all this time together, and he really is my closest friend, so it just becomes a thing where I'm not gonna hide something that makes me happy," she told Tamron Hall during an appearance on the host's talk show.

Palmer continued to gush about Jackson in a profile by Bustle's Sylvia Obell published in March 2022. 

"This is the happiest I've ever felt with someone. 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," she told Obell. 

In December 2022, Palmer revealed her pregnancy while hosting an episode of "Saturday Night Live," telling audience members in her opening monologue: "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!" 

The star then opened her coat to reveal her baby bump, to cheers and applause from the audience. "This has been the biggest blessing and I am so excited," she added. 

While Palmer didn't initially confirm that Jackson was her baby's father, Palmer later mentioned him when she spoke about the early stages of her pregnancy during a February 2023 episode of her podcast "Baby, This Is Keke Palmer."

She found out she was pregnant after Jackson discovered a positive test in their trash. Palmer said she had taken the test after "randomly thinking" she could be expecting, but apparently didn't wait long enough for the result, and mistakenly assumed she wasn't pregnant. (Jackson, for his part, clarified on the podcast that he wasn't looking through the trash for the test, but rather found the positive result after Palmer threw it away.) 

Palmer and Jackson welcomed son Leodis Andrellton Jackson sometime in late February 2023. A couple of days after the birth, they announced the baby's name and shared photos of the newborn on Instagram. 

In June of that year, Palmer paid tribute to Jackson with a sweet Instagram post for his first Father's Day, calling him the "best dad ever." 

"Leodis and I are so very happy to have such a fun, kind, responsible, dependable and supportive man like you in our lives. It's so wonderful to see the kind of loving father you are, but I'm not surprised," Palmer wrote at the time, adding: "God bless you darling, thank you for being in our lives. WE LOVE YOU!" 

In July 2023, Jackson came under fire for comments about Palmer's clothing

The controversy involving the father of Palmer's child began on X in early July, after Jackson reacted to a clip of Palmer being serenaded by Usher at a Las Vegas concert. 

In the clip, Palmer was seen wearing a black bodysuit with a sheer black dress over top. 

"It's the outfit tho.. you a mom," he tweeted in response to the video. Jackson later doubled down on his comments as online criticism of him mounted, writing: "We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn't want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is. This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case." 

Palmer, for her part, didn't directly respond to the comments, instead sharing more photos of herself in the outfit to Instagram on Wednesday evening.

"I wish I had taken more pictures," she wrote in part in the caption. 

Palmer also released "I'm a motha" merchandise online following Jackson's comments. 

"To all my mom's out there, how did your baby change you?? Mine empowered me!" she wrote on Instagram. "On such another level, my perspective changed because when my baby is good I'm GREAT! Look at that face! Gratitude galore."

At the time, Jackson's social media accounts appeared to have been deleted or disabled.

In August 2023, Palmer seemingly referenced Jackson's comments in Usher's music video for 'Boyfriend'

In Usher's music video, Palmer was seen wearing a white bathrobe and getting glammed up for a night out with friends. Later in the video, Palmer and Usher bumped into each other at a casino, wearing the same outfit. 

In a plot twist, at the end of the music video, it was revealed that Palmer actually overslept and missed out on the fun.

"Dammit, I missed the show," she said after answering her ringing phone.

"Shit, I'm so tired. I'm a mother after all," Palmer added, knowingly winking at the camera. 

At the time, People magazine reported that Jackson had "moved on" but was still co-parenting with Palmer. Entertainment Tonight reported that they'd broken up "shortly after" he critiqued her concert outfit.

Jackson responded to reports on X, writing in a since-deleted post: "I haven't spoken to anyone about anything or gave permission to anyone to speak for me.."

"So all these sites & post about me making any type of statement is false.." he added.

Palmer celebrated her 30th birthday with Jackson in August 2023

The couple appeared to reunite for Palmer's birthday on August 26, although it was unclear if they were completely back together.

"D, know you've been taking me out on my birthday as always. I mean, it's not always my birthday but you always do take me out," Palmer said to Jackson during an Instagram live captured by Pop Crave. "But I just thank you for making it special for my birthday, that's so sweet."

Jackson also called the actor his "partner in crime" during the livestream. 

He honored her with a now-deleted post on X (formerly known as Twitter), by sharing a video of a makeup-free Palmer playing with their son. 

"Happy Birthday to a one of a kind being. Hoping your 30s brings you many joys & triumphs!" he captioned the post.

Palmer was granted a temporary restraining order against Jackson in November 2023

In the filing requesting the restraining order, viewed by Business Insider, Palmer said that her romantic relationship with Jackson had "finally ended for good" in early October. She alleged that Jackson was physically and emotionally abusive to her on several occasions throughout their relationship. Palmer said that in the most recent incident, Jackson trespassed in her home on November 5 and "physically attacked" her, knocking her down and pinning her to her couch.

Palmer also said in the restraining order filing that Jackson had on previous occasions destroyed her personal property, threw her car keys to stop her from leaving, hit her and used profanities about her in front of their son, and threatened to kill himself with a gun if she left their relationship. Palmer described another incident in February 2022, where she says Jackson choked her and body slammed her onto the stairs.

Palmer was granted temporary sole custody of their son and Jackson is not allowed to visit his son until otherwise ordered by the court.

Jackson, for his part, shared a cryptic post on X around the time news of Palmer's restraining order broke.  

"I love you, son. See you soon," Jackson captioned a photo of him and Leodis. 

At the time, representatives for Palmer and Jackson didn't respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. 

Palmer wrote about her relationship with Jackson in her memoir, 'Master of Me'

In her book, Palmer writes about Jackson's reaction to her appearance at Usher's concert, calling it "unexpected."

Palmer explains that she's an entertainer, and the person that fans know is an extroverted persona she created to protect her more introverted self and create a boundary. 

"The truth is that my son's father didn't realize I was holding a boundary between the audience and me," Palmer says. 

Elsewhere in the memoir, Palmer says she was in a "genuine relationship" with Jackson, but it became "something unhealthy."

"The relationship was no longer bringing out the best in either of us," she writes, adding that she didn't want her son to see their relationship as a model or "grow up in an unhappy, unhealthy household."

Palmer says that she's no longer angry with Jackson and doesn't regret their relationship. "I love him so much as a human being even though things will never be the same, but maybe that's the point," she writes.

Referencing their legal issues, the actor says, "The fallout of our relationship, especially through the court system, was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through."

"But I knew no other way to bring order to the situation for both of us because it had truly gotten above me," Palmer says. "I didn't want people to hate him or think he was crazy and judge his entire character on the worst aspects that I experienced. But, most importantly, I didn't want my son to think his father is a monster, because I don't."

Palmer spoke about co-parenting with Jackson and said she's 'grateful' for the point they've reached 

"I gotta be honest, I would've never thought that I would be where I am now, and so I'm very grateful that this has now been the outcome and we've been able to coexist in this way and show up for our son, and just be in a different place," Palmer said during an appearance on "CBS Mornings" with Gayle King on Tuesday. "It's a real blessing," 

Libby Torres contributed to an earlier version of this story.