That answer fits the tone of interest in the pairing so far: playful, self-aware and just vague enough to keep fans examining every clip like it contains state secrets.
Why fans started connecting Palmer and Evans
Fans had more to work with after reports that Palmer and Evans were seen together at Lucali, the well-known Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, on Friday, June 12.
TMZ reported that the pair dined for more than 90 minutes. An eyewitness said they appeared “locked in” during their conversation, though the outlet also noted there was no public display of affection. PEOPLE later reported that Palmer was asked about Evans after the apparent dinner outing.
The Brooklyn sighting didn’t come out of nowhere. It simply added a fresh data point to a connection fans have been tracking for years.
Palmer and Evans first crossed paths publicly through Hot Ones, the First We Feast interview series built around celebrities answering unusually well-researched questions while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings. Palmer first appeared with Evans in 2017, and their easy, slightly flirty chemistry has resurfaced in later appearances and social media clips.
Evans’ appeal as an interviewer has always been his calm precision. Palmer’s is her speed, warmth and theatrical timing. Put them in the same room and the contrast does a lot of the work.
The podcast episode that fed the speculation
Interest picked up sharply in late May, when Evans appeared on the May 26 episode of Palmer’s podcast, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer.
Palmer introduced him as a “potential future suitor” and “my boo,” which is not exactly a neutral professional greeting. During the episode, the two talked about their experiences as interviewers, their nearly decade-long friendship and the online reaction to their exchanges.
They also leaned directly into the public curiosity around them. Evans praised Palmer as charismatic, smart and beautiful. Palmer, meanwhile, asked whether their first Hot Ones appearance had felt as special to him as it had to her.
According to PEOPLE, Evans told her they had been on the “same wavelength.” Palmer joked that she then realized the moment had been “special.”
The episode gave fans exactly what they usually want in these moments: enough sincerity to feel real, enough performance to remain deniable and enough mutual laughter to keep the clips circulating.
A years-long trail of flirtation and viral moments
The Palmer-Evans storyline did not begin with a podcast or a Brooklyn dinner. It has been developing in small public moments for years.
In 2023, Evans appeared on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date and was asked whether he had ever had a crush on one of his guests. He named Palmer, calling her “very charming.” That answer later became part of the fan conversation when Palmer returned to Hot Ones.
Two years later, during another Hot Ones appearance, Palmer playfully suggested that she and Evans “have a quick smooch to see if there’s a spark.” E! News reported in September 2025 that the appearance included a surprise kiss after Evans’ earlier crush confession resurfaced.
PEOPLE later noted that Palmer and Evans watched and reacted to the viral moment together while promoting Palmer’s podcast. By then, their rapport had moved beyond ordinary press-tour friendliness and into a more familiar modern category: the public will not stop asking, and the celebrities are not exactly discouraging it.
That does not make it a confirmed romance. It does explain why each new interaction gets studied so closely.
Palmer has made it clear she’s taking love at her own pace
Palmer’s latest comments also match what she’s said recently about love more broadly.
Earlier in June, during a 2026 Tribeca Festival conversation with Whoopi Goldberg, Palmer said she was “more open to love” than she had been before. At the same time, she made it clear that romance is not the central force organizing her life.
Palmer shares her son, Leodis, with ex Darius Jackson. She has spoken publicly about shifting her priorities after motherhood and a highly public breakup. In the Tribeca conversation, she said her son, family, friends and work now take up much of her emotional life.
Romantic love, she explained, no longer occupies the whole “box,” even if she remains open to it.
That context makes her “day by day” answer about Evans feel less like coy celebrity evasion and more like a boundary. Palmer is allowing room for connection without volunteering her personal life for committee review, a radical concept that may require several meetings to process.
Why Sean Evans remains part of the story
Evans, meanwhile, is still best known as the steady host of Hot Ones, one of digital media’s most recognizable celebrity interview formats.
The show’s premise is simple: famous guests answer questions while eating wings that become increasingly punishing. Its success, though, depends heavily on Evans’ preparation and understated delivery. While guests sweat through hot sauce and life choices, he usually stays composed, asking questions that suggest he has read more than the publicist-approved biography.
First We Feast announced in December 2024 that the brand behind Hot Ones had been sold by BuzzFeed Inc. to a consortium led by founder Chris Schonberger and Evans. The company was preparing to launch the show’s 10th anniversary season in January 2025.
That professional backdrop matters because Evans is not the usual celebrity dating-rumor figure. He is a host whose public persona is built on patience, research and restraint. Paired with Palmer’s quick comic energy, the dynamic lands as both polished and spontaneous.
It is also exactly the kind of contrast that thrives in short-form clips, where one look, joke or shared laugh can become a full narrative by the end of the day.
What is actually confirmed
For now, not much is confirmed.
- Palmer and Evans have known each other publicly since her 2017 Hot Ones appearance.
- Evans called Palmer “very charming” during a 2023 Chicken Shop Date appearance.
- Palmer later joked on Hot Ones that they should “have a quick smooch to see if there’s a spark.”
- Evans appeared on Palmer’s podcast on May 26, where she called him a “potential future suitor” and “my boo.”
- The two were reportedly seen dining at Lucali in Brooklyn on June 12 for more than 90 minutes, with no reported public display of affection.
- On June 23, Palmer said they are “hangin out” and taking things “day by day.”
What is not confirmed is whether they are officially dating. Neither Palmer nor Evans has publicly said they’re in a relationship.
Still, Palmer’s answer did make one thing clear: she is comfortable letting the speculation simmer without serving up a fixed label. Whether this becomes a confirmed romance or remains a fan-favorite friendship with unusually good timing, she seems content to move at her own pace.
Or, as she put it, one wing at a time.
