Keke Palmer Is ‘Grateful’ She and Ex Darius Jackson Can ‘Coexist’ and ‘Show Up for Our Son’ After Difficulties: ‘A Real Blessing’

Keke Palmer is happy to be in a better place with her ex.

The actress, 31, spoke with Gayle King on CBS Mornings on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and opened up about her co-parenting relationship with her ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson, with whom she shares her son Leodis “Leo.”

Asked about how she’s been able to get to a better place with Jackson, Palmer says she didn’t anticipate having a positive outcome.

“I gotta be honest, I would’ve never thought that I would be where I am now, and so I’m very grateful that this has now been the outcome and we’ve been able to coexist in this way and show up for our son, and just be in a different place. It’s a real blessing,” Palmer shares.

King then goes on to talk to Palmer about how she and Jackson co-parent, asking her how she was able to get to this spot with her ex.

“Boundaries. Boundaries – I don’t think I had enough of ’em,” she explains. “I think boundaries, and I talk about that a lot in the book. People cannot respect boundaries you don’t have and sometimes it’s hard to make boundaries with people you love.”

“And that’s something that I’ve always struggled with,” Palmer continues. “I talk about it so much in the book, with my Christian background and the concept of forgiveness and how that means I show up for me and show up for others.”

“And when I had my son, it became clear that I needed to create boundaries and I needed to have hard lines with the people in my life.”

In October, Palmer opened up to PEOPLE about some of the difficulties in her relationship with Jackson, which came to a head when Jackson publicly addressed an outfit Palmer wore to an Usher concert.

“It’s the outfit tho . . . you a mom,” Jackson wrote in response to a video showing Palmer wearing a sheer dress as she danced with Usher at his concert. Fans immediately came to her defense online — though some commenters stirred the pot.

For her part, “I was speechless,” she said of seeing the uproar the next day.

In Palmer’s opinion, “I was just at a concert, doing what I do as an entertainer, creating a fun moment. How it became a storyline that me and Usher are in love, I don’t know,” she said.

As for what contributed to the end of her “unhealthy” relationship with Jackson, she blames the stress of new parenting, and “I imagine fame,” said Palmer, who navigated their painful breakup — which included allegations of domestic violence and a custody battle — publicly.

“It’s just been a monkey on my back all my life. I’m used to it. But I’ve always known, and not just with my romantic relationships, but with my family, with my friends. Fame has always become a burden.”