LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 21: Keyshia Cole attends the world premiere screening of Lifetime's "Keyshia Cole: This is my story" at The GRAMMY Museum on June 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Victoria Sirakova/Getty Images)
Keyshia Cole has given us some of the greatest R&B hits over the years. But, sadly, songs like ‘Love’ and ‘I Remember’ were inspired by her own experiences with heartbreak and relationships gone wrong.
Her current romance with 24-year-old rapper Hunxho has been in the public eye for less than a month. Yet, it’s already been tainted by rapper Gloss Up’s “sneaky link” revelations.
As a result, social media users have been dragging and advising Auntie Keyshia about her choices in love up to this point.
So, WHO has Keyshia Cole dated? Keep scrolling for a lil’ recap of the 42-year-old’s public dating life, from Jeezy to Antonio Brown and now Hunxho.
In the early 2000s, rumors swirled about Keyshia and producer Chink Santana hooking up, and their 2005 collaboration ‘Situations’ only added to the talks. It’s said that Cole and Ashanti were dating Chink at the same time, leading to a fallout between the singers.
That alleged love triangle is believed to be the inspiration behind Ashanti and Cole’s joint track, ‘Woman To Woman,’ which was released in 2012.
The producer has never clarified his relationship with Keyshia. But that same year, he reportedly revealed his adoration for Ashanti in an interview.
“She’s the most phenomenal writer I’ve ever met before. I don’t know what else to say about her without getting all emotional. I’ll give her my ankle if she needed it,” Chink said, per VH1.
After allegedly moving on from Santana, Keyshia Cole and Jeezy reportedly started dating between Nov. 2005 and Oct. 2007.
Over the years, they’ve painted each other as the person who wanted MORE from the other.
In a 2007 interview with Essence, Keyshia shared that a man she dated who had a 10-year-old had proposed to her, per MadameNoire. At the time, fans speculated she was speaking about Jeezy, given that he matched the timeline and description. Ultimately, she said she declined out of fear.
“After this guy proposed to me, I was like, dang, this is everything a woman lives for: to be married, with a ring, to be able to represent something. But for me, it was the opposite. I was scared. I’m just not ready for that. I’m not done with my goals in life. I just couldn’t submit. But I loved him. That’s the crazy thing about it,” she reportedly said.
Meanwhile, Jeezy told VIBE in 2008 that Cole proposed to him and that, ultimately, the media hyped their connection beyond what it was.
“Keyshia asked me to marry her, bought me a ring and everything. She not gon tell you different,” the rapper allegedly said. “I was grown enough to tell her, “Look baby, this isn’t what it is right now. I’m trying to get my sh*t together. I’m trying to get my money, take care of me and mine.”
Keyshia and former NBA player Daniel Gibson crossed paths in May 2009 and got engaged less than a year later, in January 2010, per Atlanta Black Star. A few months later, in March, they welcomed their only kid together, Daniel Hiram Gibson Jr. In May 2011, Daniel and Keyshia became husband and wife, and in September of that year, they renewed their vows.
The pair went on to chronicle their lives in the reality show ‘Keyshia & Daniel: Family First.’ However, by 2014, the couple had split after years of cheating accusations against Gibson.
In 2017, Keyshia made their separation official by filing for a divorce. It was finalized in 2020. She told PEOPLE in June 2023 that she endured the cheating for the sake of their son having two parents in the home.
After leaving Gibson in 2014, Keyshia began dating rapper Birdman. They reportedly knew each other before dating. However, their romantic ties didn’t last very long, and here’s why.
In 2017, a woman doubled down on her $4 million lawsuit against the singer for allegedly whooping her during a jealous rage, per TMZ. Sabrina Mercadel said Cole put the paws on her in 2014 at Birdman’s Los Angeles penthouse. Cole allegedly punched and scratched Mercadel, allegedly permanently damaging one of Sabrina’s fingers.
Sabrina later admitted she and Birdman were just friends having a platonic visit. Birdman reportedly ended his relationship with the singer after the fight.
At the time, Cole was also arrested for misdemeanor battery. Sabrina later filed a restraining order against Keyshia, and a judge granted it. She also initially filed the suit in 2014.
The lawsuit ended with a default judgment against Keyshia in November 2017 because she never showed up in court. According to TMZ, she was ordered to pay Sabrina $100,635 for the incident.
It is also rumored that she dated Bow Wow and Floyd Mayweather in 2016.
Shad Moss confirmed they had dated during a 2016 sit-down with DJ Vlad. In that interview, he seemingly accused Keyshia of egging his friend’s Rolls Royce. However, Bow also said she was one of the “sweetest women” he knows.
As for Floyd, she told Hot 97 in Oct. 2017 that she would “never survive in a relationship with someone like Floyd Mayweather.” Though she had “super love” for Floyd, the singer suggested it’d be no different from dating her ex-husband.
“Being in a relationship with Floyd, I would be totally hurt in shambles, I’m not that type of girl to be able to deal with that kind of stuff and I don’t think money would make that any better.”
Hunxho isn’t the first younger man Keyshia has dated. The father of her second child, Niko Khale, is 14 years her junior. They linked up in 2017 and went public in early 2018, per Essence. The following year, in August, they welcomed their son, Tobias Khale.
By 2020, the couple called it quits. He later revealed on Instagram that his “heart [was] broken” over the split, per Atlanta Black Star. To this day, it’s unclear what caused their end.
Antonio Brown and Cole sparked dating rumors in early 2022 after collaborating on a song for his debut album.
Things turned ugly in the public eye after she shared social media posts claiming to “miss” him “a lot” in May 2022. Days later, he shared a picture of her lower back tattoo of his initials “AB.” His caption read, “You ain’t pimpin until you hit an R&B diva.” She responded by pointing out that he had changed the caption on the picture several times and that she had already apologized for a private agreement.
However, he later went viral after telling her to “stay off [his] d**k” and that he doesn’t “want” her.”
When he paid her a public compliment this past Feb., she seemingly shut down any hopes of reconciliation. In a Valentine’s Day Instagram post, she joked that her “taste in men” has to be “a disability.”
Regardless of the ups and downs in her dating history, Keyshia Cole already clarified in 2020 that she can keep a man. It’s the men who can’t keep her!
“See, that’s where y’all got me f**ked up at. A n***a don’t know how to KEEP me. RESPECTFULLY sis,” she told an X user.
Last year, she posted on X about her desire to walk down the aisle again.
We can’t say whether that wedding will happen with Hunxho. However, Keyshia hasn’t let any drama with Gloss Up keep her from popping out with the 24-year-old.
The pair lived it up in Las Vegas this past weekend. Several videos of them at the casino and her wearing his chain have gone viral.
Another recent clip of them together seemingly shows the young rapper serenading his R&B queen!
Period, Keyshia ‘Gon Pop Out With A Boo’ Cole!
