Kéké Palmer talked about being in a relationship with an older man while filming his Nickelodeon show like a teenager.

While promoting his upcoming book Master of Me: The secret to controlling your narrativethe 31-year-old spoke candidly to People about her experience with toxic relationships, particularly one that took place early in her career when she in the role of a teenage fashion director in the Nickelodeon sitcom, True Jackson, vice president.

“I had a great time doing Jackson’s real vice presidentbut it was also a very stressful, difficult and depressive time,” Palmer recalled, noting that she then had an “inappropriate” relationship with an older man.

“I was 15, he was 20,” said the No the actor explained. “I was trying to find a balance between being very young and feeling quite mature. If I thought it was inappropriate, I wouldn’t have done it.

“Obviously I shouldn’t have been 15 with a 20-year-old,” she continued. “But in my mind, it was like, ‘I got a full-time job…No one can understand me except a grown man.’ But he knew there were a lot of things I had no way of understanding at 15.

The relationship – which Palmer said she hid for years from those close to her – lasted until she was in her 20s. Looking back, the actor admitted that the five-year relationship had a negative long-term impact.

“I wasn’t mentally capable of processing and understanding the things that would have made this relationship appropriate,” she admitted. “The power dynamic put me in a situation that harmed me in ways I could not have known. I had neither the language nor the strength to accept that the person he had met was a child, not the woman I wanted to become.

The Emmy winner admitted that it took her a while to understand what a real, healthy relationship looked like.

“It wasn’t until I became a real adult woman, and even then, we know we still have time to grow. But around 26, 27, 28, I had finally experienced, I think, real love,” she said, crediting her ex Darius Jackson by changing your perspective. “Not that I didn’t love this (other) person, but it wasn’t until I felt what it was like to have someone love me back and actually respect me, that I realized that this relationship was not good.

Palmer and Jackson began dating after meeting at a Memorial Day party in May 2021. In December 2022, Palmer revealed that she was expecting her first child. She made the announcement during the opening monologue of her Saturday evening live hosting debut. The couple welcomed their first child, son Leodis “Leo” Andrellton, in February 2023.

In July of that year, their relationship took a turn when Jackson Palmer publicly shamed for wearing a see-through dress during the Usher residency in Las Vegas. He expressed his frustrations in a post shared on X/Twitter, writing above a video of Palmer being serenaded by the R&B singer: “It’s the outfit but…you’re a mom.”

After receiving widespread reactionJackson doubled down on his comments, saying: “We live in a generation where a family man doesn’t want the wife and mother of his children to show their butts to please others and is told how hateful he is.” East.”

“This is my family and my representation. I have standards and morals that match what I believe,” he said. “I’m finishing my case.”

Palmer later requested a restraining order against Jackson in November 2023, alleging multiple incidents of physical violence. She obtained a temporary restraining order against Jackson, as well as temporary sole custody of their son.

In December, Jackson filed his own restraining order against Palmer, alleging she “engaged in abusive conduct during this two-and-a-half-year relationship.” However, following court-ordered mediation, Palmer and Jackson reached an amicable agreement for joint custody of Leo.