A Very Thorough, Non-Thirsty Timeline of Keke Palmer and Sean Evans’ Flirtationship

I’m going to hold your hand when I say this: Keke Palmer and Sean Evans have known each other for almost a decade. I know, I know. Take a moment.

The multihyphenate made her first appearance on Hot Ones all the way back in 2017, and since then, the internet has become fully obsessed with her and Sean’s flirty banter across several interviews. We’ve also seen a similar chemistry between Amelia Dimoldenberg and Andrew Garfield on Chicken Shop Date, but something about Keke and Sean hits different. In the words of the I Love Boosters star herself: it’s got “a little sweetness to it.”

And after the two were spotted on what looked like a date earlier this month, Keke finally just confirmed that she and Sean are “hanging out” (via Page Six), noting, “You never know what can arise from there.”

In light of this, now seems like a good time to relive every moment of their flirtation in a chronological timeline—in a totally non-thirsty way, of course.

Keke makes her first appearance on Hot Ones while promoting her show Berlin Station, and she and the host seem to hit it off over some spicy wings.

Keke virtually joins Hot Ones again for another round, and…is it hot in here, or is it just the wings?

Important to note that this was when her iconic “This one has a little sweetness to it” meme was born.

Sean joins Amelia Dimoldenberg for a huge chicken talk show crossover event when he appears on Chicken Shop Date. Naturally, she asks if he’s ever had a crush on a Hot Ones guest, to which he wasted no time in shooting his shot.

“Keke Palmer,” he gushed after hinting it was a guest they both hosted. “Very charming. Very charming woman.”

Keke even reacted to the comment when she shared the Chicken Shop Date clip herself (!!!) and captioned the post, “It was love at first hot wing 🤪—this was too kind @seanseaevans 🫶🏾.”

Keke revealed how she really felt about Sean’s confession of having a crush on her during an interview with People nearly a year later.

“I was living for it,” she told the outlet at the time, noting that they had “good chemistry” while filming her 2021 episode of Hot Ones.

“Not to say that I was surprised or I wasn’t surprised,” she added. “But when I heard it and people were sending it to me, I was like, ‘I knew the vibes were vibing.’”

Keke appeared on Hot Ones for a third time, marking her first visit since Sean confessed to having a crush on her in 2023. At one point during the episode, she took matters into her own hands and suggested they share a smooch to test their physical chemistry.

“And then there’s one more thing I’d like to say, Sean,” she began, “because I saw an interview where you said, like, I was your favorite guest, you know, and all this really sweet stuff.”

She continued, “And 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.”

Of course, he immediately agreed to it. After they tested the waters, he playfully said, “When I’m dying and my life flashes before my eyes, I’ll have that snapshot.”

Oh, and let’s take a moment to acknowledge this look:

YouTube

If you’re not looking at me the way Sean looks at Keke, I don’t want it.

Sean and Keke reunited yet again, but this time, the Hot Ones host was a guest on her pod, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer. And to no one’s surprise, the chemistry was chemistry-ing.

Of course, they promoted the ep by reacting to their sweetest moments with each other over the years. They also went in depth about their friendship over the years, and, yes, Keke talked about the kiss she initiated during her last visit on Hot Ones.

“I think they probably thought it was scripted because you didn’t seem surprised at all,” she said, to which Sean responded, laughing, “I didn’t give it a second to breathe. Once I heard the offer and the conditions, I immediately signed.”

A tipster spotted Keke and Sean on what looked like a date in Brooklyn and sent a photo in to DeuxMoi—which, of course, led to an internet meltdown.

Soon after, Keke finally addressed dating rumors during Spotify’s Conversations That Channel Culture panel at Cannes Lions. When fellow podcaster Jay Shetty brought up Keke’s Brooklyn dinner date and asked whether she is “serious about Sean Evans,” Keke finally opened up about how they’ve been “hanging out.”

“First of all, I love Sean Evans. I love Sean. Hey, Sean! That’s my guy,” she said, adding, “You never know what can arise from there. We just take it day by day. One wing at a time, so to speak.”

Can’t help but giggle and kick my feet at every single interaction between these two!