We were first introduced to Keshia Knight Pulliam when she played the beloved character Rudy Huxtable. She’s one of the few child stars who made a smooth transition from adolescence to adulthood, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced some personal struggles.
Here’s the truth about Keshia Knight Pulliam’s dating history.
Keesha & Kaseem
After appearing in various television shows and movies, Keshia took a break from the limelight to live a normal life. In an issue of People magazine, it was revealed that by the time she turned 21, she had purchased her own townhome in Atlanta, drove a Jaguar, and was finishing up her sociology degree at Spelman College. She also told the magazine she had a boyfriend, although she refused to state his name. Keshia did have this to say though: “My parents told me that anyone I choose to be with should treat me like a princess.”
It’s unclear what happened with that relationship, but in 2007, she began dating Atlanta entrepreneur Kaseem Penn. Two years later, not only were they still an item, Kaseem was also her business partner. They decided to put their love on display by starring in their own reality show on the Oxygen network entitled Keshia and Kaseem. According to Today.com, Keshia and her boyfriend were living together in his home, and cameras were set to explore what it was like to be “young, rich, single and cohabitating.”
The show never made it on air. She and Kaseem broke up sometime around 2010. In 2011, in an interview with Vibe magazine, Keshia stated that she and Kaseem decided not to move forward with the reality show and she was no longer interested in putting her personal life on television. She ended the interview by saying she wished Kaseem the best but it just wasn’t meant to be.
A long-term relationship goes sour
In August 2013, she moved on with television and radio personality Big Tigger. They were hesitant to go public with their relationship, but Keshia could no longer keep the love she had for her boo to herself. A few months after dating rumors began circulating, she shared an image of some gifts Tigger had purchased for her.
In December 2013, there were rumors the couple had gotten engaged. Of course, neither of them spoke up to confirm the allegation. They continued popping up at different Atlanta hot spots together, so everyone assumed their relationship was still on the right track.
On December 31, 2016, Keshia got engaged during a New Year’s Eve party at her home. She shared a photo of herself and her new fiancé sharing a kiss. Everyone assumed Big Tigger was the husband-to-be, and we were all so excited for them.
Big Tigger shuts down engagement rumors
After UsWeekly ran a story about the engagement and included a picture of Keshia and Tigger in the headline, Tigger decided to set the record straight during a segment on his V-103 radio show. He said he had been receiving tweets and messages from his friends to congratulate him on his engagement. But Tigger made it clear: “I am not, nor have I ever been engaged. Ever!”
So who was the man in Keshia’s engagement photo? And when did she and Tigger break up? Tigger said on-air, “The details about our breakup, the who, what, when, where, why, etcetera, is our business exclusively, and will remain so!” He also wished Keshia and her new fiancé the best of luck.
Keshia’s mystery man gets revealed
The cat was out of the bag when Madame Noire reported Keshia and Tigger were spotted together just nine months before her engagement announcement. They quietly went their separate ways in 2015, and she quickly moved on with former NFL player Ed Hartwell — the ex-husband of former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Lisa Wu.
Lisa and Ed’s divorce was finalized in 2012, so he was single and ready to mingle by the time he started dating Keshia in 2015. However, during an episode of Hollywood Divas, Lisa made it clear that Ed and Keshia hooking up was a bit shady.
Lisa said she and Keshia were cordial with one another, and she was the one who introduced them. She stated that Keshia and Ed were just “industry friends” at first before things eventually turned romantic. Lisa indicated she found out through her then-8-year-old son she shared with Ed that he and Keshia were going to tie the knot. Lisa further stated, “There’s no hate going on, it’s just the way I found out about it. Other than that, my son is happy, he likes her. And she’s great to my son.”
A wedding, a baby & a divorce
Keisha and Ed weren’t about to waste any time becoming husband and wife. A few weeks later, during an episode of her podcast, Keshia announced after getting engaged on New Year’s Eve, after just four months of dating, they got married on New Year’s Day in her living room. Ed joined Keshia on her podcast and stated, “Both [of] our dreams came true that day. We have an amazing time together.”
On July 19, 2016, Keshia announced she was pregnant with a baby girl, but her announcement was quite awkward. Ed wasn’t mentioned in her social media post, nor was he included in her photo.
Sources told The YBF they noticed Ed and Keshia were constantly bickering, but no one expected Ed to file for divorce on July 25, 2016 — just six days after Keisha announced her pregnancy. According to The YBF, even Keshia was blindsided by his decision.
The real reason Ed filed for divorce
So what went wrong? A source told the website Ed felt Keshia was too spoiled, and because he had a tendency to act impulsively, he decided to end things instead of putting in the effort to work it out.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Ed stated their marriage began to fall apart almost immediately. He said their relationship was torn apart by jealousy, disagreements about starting a family, and suspicions about infidelity on both sides. Ed said Keshia was obsessed with having a baby. However he told her that because they had such a short courtship, it was best for them to focus on each other first before bringing a baby into the picture, but Keshia wasn’t having it.
Less than a month after getting hitched, he sat Keshia down and told her, “I think we probably messed up. I think we moved too fast.” He thought their lives were headed in two different directions, and he also confessed that his ex, a woman named Tonya Carroll whom he dated for four years after his divorce from Lisa, had “lost a baby” and it made him realize he still “cared about her.”
Ed said Keshia wasn’t upset he had feelings for his ex, she was more upset that he wasn’t ready to have a baby. He stated Keshia told him, “You don’t want to have a baby, but you’re mad about her baby.” Ed mentioned Keshia also told him he was no longer allowed to talk to his ex’s 13-year-old daughter.
After their conversation, Ed said Keshia virtually disappeared. She went to visit a spiritualist and started going out with her friends all the time and not even coming home at times. For that reason, he questioned whether he was the baby’s father or if her ex-boyfriend Big Tigger was her baby’s daddy. The former NFL linebacker demanded a paternity test. He said, “I can’t say she’s been unfaithful. I can say she’s stayed out, she’s not came home, she’s went out-of-town for three days, I don’t know what’s going on.”
Keshia makes infidelity accusations
Keshia sat with Entertainment Tonight to explain her side of the story. She said she found out Ed had cheated on her during the marriage so she started the process of ending their union. Once she found out she was pregnant, she decided to work on the marriage. She said Ed wanted more children so he was excited to find out they were having a girl. However, at some point, he checked out of their relationship and filed for divorce without her knowledge.
Keshia was ready to move forward and focus on her pregnancy, but she also had some words for Ed’s ex-wife, Lisa. After hearing about the episode of Hollywood Divas, in which Lisa implied she and Keshia were acquaintances and she was shady for dating Ed, Keshia said that her lawyers were involved and they would handle the damaging statements Lisa had made about her.
Since Ed introduced the idea that Keshia could be pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, Big Tigger had to clear his name, as well. He opened up on his radio show by saying, “There is zero percent chance that the child is mine. I could not have impregnated a female that I have not spoken to nor seen since our breakup.”
Paternity battle
In January 2017, Keshia gave birth to Ella Hartwell. According to Page Six, Ed found out their daughter had been born through his lawyer. Less than a month later, he took a paternity test and found out he was the father. A long and drawn-out divorce and child support battle ensued.
Keshia presented to the court evidence that Ed had been cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend, Tonya Carroll. In March 2017, a woman named Damia Ward-Henley, who described herself as a mutual friend of Ed and Tonya’s, said Ed started dating Tonya again while he was still married to Keshia. In court docs obtained by TMZ, Damia also said after Tonya found out Keshia was pregnant, she was very upset because she wanted Ed to leave her.
Damia claimed Tonya told her she “wanted to get something that would cause someone to have a miscarriage.” Damia said she responded by telling Tonya and Ed to break off their adulterous relationship.
Keshia also filed docs saying she had seen Ed take strong pain medication. She also presented evidence of Ed testifying in a court case with the NFL that he suffers from severe physical and mental problems due to his days of playing football. For those reasons, she believed he was unfit to take care of their daughter.
During the divorce trial, Ed admitted he and Tonya had reconciled and she was pregnant with his child. In the end, he was ordered to pay $3,007 dollars per month in child support to Keshia. As of this video, he reportedly has fallen behind on payments and now owes her close to $32,000.
Keshia finds love
Ed reportedly married Tonya in 2019, and Keshia moved on as well. In October 2019, it was reported she was dating For Better or Worse actor Brad James — who was linked in the past to Chilli from TLC. Keshia’s relationship with Brad progressed while filming the TV movie Pride and Prejudice.
During an Instagram Live session with Brad, Keshia said they hit it off right away and bonded while talking about their writing projects. Keshia said he asked her to look over a script he was working on, and she had a script she wanted his feedback on as well. He put his number, email, and his birthday in her phone and after meeting up, things turned romantic.
Finding harmony with each other has been a big deal for them since they’ve been previously married and both have children. Keshia said going through her rocky marriage and divorce helped her to clearly identify what she wants in a future partner, and Brad agrees.
According to BET, Keshia and Brad made their debut at the grand opening of Tyler Perry’s Studios. Keshia posted a sweet photo of them standing on the platform in front of the Oprah Winfrey Soundstage.
We’re happy to hear that Keshia’s finally in a better place. She has had a permanent smile on her face ever since Brad came into her life, and we wish this beautiful couple nothing but the best.
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