Keke Palmer is feeling the heat when it comes to all the chatter about her love life. The actor has sparked some dating rumors with Hot Ones host Sean Evans recently, after the two were spotted on a dinner date in June. But this potential relationship is a tricky one, since Palmer and Evans have been loudly shipped by commenters for the last few years due to their flirty banter on each other’s shows. While Palmer recently confessed she feels a “genuine” connection with Evans, she lamented that it may not get the proper space to grow due to the “parasocial” interest around them.
Palmer directly addressed her relationship with Evans during a July 27 appearance on Today. “Our chemistry is genuine. I couldn’t force that if I tried,” Palmer said. “We always felt that chemistry from the first time we did the show.”
Palmer first appeared as a guest on Hot Ones in 2017. About six years later, Evans revealed that he developed a crush on Palmer during their interview, so when Palmer returned to the saucy talk show in 2025, she convinced him to give her a kiss. The smooch caused viral interest in Palmer and Evans potentially exploring their romantic spark — which threw Palmer for a loop.
“I was gagged that everybody was ready to marry me off,” she told Today. “I was like, ‘Guys, let it cook.’ They married your girl off in two seconds.”
The attention reached a whole new level when Palmer and Evans were spotted on an intimate dinner date in Brooklyn in June.
“That was crazy,” Palmer said of the headlines sparked by the dinner date photo. “I mean, for us, it’s life. Essentially we met at work, and we had chem… It’s like work husband/work wife, and you just had that chemistry with people. Then we hang out, and for people to then… they write the story before you can live it.”
She worries that the public interest in her relationship with Evans could end up ruining something that may have not even gotten a chance yet. “I see somebody at the airport. I’m going through TSA, they’re like, ‘So girl, what’s going on with you?’” Palmer said. “I’m like, ‘Girl, you gotta let time pass! This just happened yesterday.’ It’s this thing that’s so parasocial, the world we live in now.”
