Summary

• Actress Tia Mowry's divorce from ex-husband Cory Hardrict brought back rumors of Keke Palmer flirting with him.
• Keke Palmer and Cory Hardrict had known each other for years.
• Despite a picture of Tia Mowry appearing to confront Keke Palmer, both actresses have denied any feud.

Actress Tia Mowry and her ex-husband, actor Cory Hardrict, were married for over a decade before they shocked the world and announced that they were getting a divorce. The former couple had once shared their lives on social media and before the cameras for three seasons in the reality series Tia Mowry at Home.

From the outside looking in, it seemed that Mowry, Hardrict, and their two children, son Cree and daughter Cairo, had it all: fame, a beautiful home, family, and successful careers. But after Tia Mowry decided to separate from her husband, certain unsavory aspects of their relationship resurfaced in the media. One rumor circulating Hollywood for several years was that actress Keke Palmer had flirted with Corey Hardrict and intended to date him. Soon, the press began delving back into Palmer's and Hardrict's relationship, which added further strain on Mowry and her ex-husband's public and messy divorce.

Keke Palmer Knew Cory Hardrict Before He Met Tia Mowry

Prior to the cheating allegations, Keke Palmer and Cory Hardrict had a working relationship for several years. Their acquaintance began when Hardrict auditioned to be the elder brother of Palmer's character in one of her most critically acclaimed films, Akeelah and the Bee. During the filming of

, Keke Palmer was 12, and Hardrict was 27, so naturally, the two were only acquaintances. Cory Hardrict lost the role in Akeelah and the Bee to another actor, but Palmer and he would often see each other professionally on Hollywood sets.

The two actors were reunited years later when Palmer was 22 and Hadrict was 36 on the set of the film Brotherly Love. Brotherly Love was a drama produced by rapper and actress Queen Latifah; the story followed the fictional lives of three siblings growing up in Philadelphia who were all on a quest for self-discovery.

When Brotherly Love was filmed in 2015, Cory Hardrict and Tia Mowry had been married for nearly seven years and shared a son, Cree.

Like Palmer, Tia Mowry had first met Hardrict on a film set.

They were co-stars in a movie called Hollywood Horror, and by the time Mowry was filming the project, she had already gained fame from starring in the TV show Sister, Sister alongside real-life twin Tamera Mowry.

As for Mowry's soon-to-be-husband, up until he filmed Hollywood Horror, the vast majority of movie goers were not familiar with Corey Hardrict or what he did outside of having small roles in films.

In any case, the two started as friends before things quickly progressed into a relationship and then marriage.

Did Keke Palmer Try To Break Up Tia Mowry's Marriage To Cory Hardrict?

Trouble ensued when the Brotherly Love cast began doing promotions for the film. During a press conference, Keke Palmer revealed that she had a crush on her co-star Cory Hadrict.

Unsurprisingly, one person who was not happy with Palmer's shocking revelation was Tia Mowry. According to vh1 news, Mowry fired off a post on Twitter condemning what Keke Palmer said. In the since-deleted tweet, Mowry roughly stated that someone saying they liked another person's husband was not cool.

Immediately, gossip blogs and social media pages such as The Shade Room began insinuating that Mowry's post must have been a not-so-subtle dig at Keke Palmer. Sources close to Palmer and Hadrict alleged that the two also hung out a lot on and off the set and were very friendly with each other.

The flirting implications nearly tarnished Palmer's otherwise squeaky-clean reputation, and she quickly went on the defense. In an interview with Wendy Williams on her daytime talk show, Keke Palmer set the record straight over her comments about Tia Mowry's husband. Palmer stated that the situation was laughable as the media had utterly twisted her words to create a headline.

The True Jackson, VP actress explained that during the press conference for Brotherly Love, she initially reflected on how she had grown up with her cast members. Palmer admitted that in her youth, she had a crush on Cory Hardrict and dreamed of one day marrying him. However, she claimed it was just the musings of a child and that her adult self no longer had romantic feelings towards him.

She added that though she found Hardrict to be a great person, he was not the type of guy she was into and that she had nothing but love and admiration for Tia Mowry.

Did Tia Mowry Confront Keke Palmer Over Cory Hardrict?

When fans thought the dust had settled in the Keke Palmer and Tia Mowry drama, the two stirred up more controversy after being pictured at the Brotherly Love movie premiere. The picture showed Palmer's back to the camera with Mowry's hand gripping her wrist as she spoke inches from her face.

The seemingly tense exchange had people wondering if the two actresses were engaged in a heated argument.

However, Cory Hardrict quickly dispelled rumors of a rift. According to Madamenoire in an interview with Hardrict, he claimed that the two actresses were not feuding and that, in the picture, his wife was speaking to Keke Palmer about a book she had written.

He added that Palmer was like a little sister to him and that he would never do anything to break up his family and hurt his wife. Hardrict went on to tell the magazine that he and Mowry later laughed about how the media took the innocent moment out of context.

Tia Mowry also spoke to Madamnoire and denied claims she was in a bitter love triangle. She stated that the allegations were false and that the picture she took with Palmer was completely non-confrontational. Mowry added that the two were merely discussing their admiration of one another. The Sister, Sister star confirmed that she also spoke to Palmer about a book she had published and that the former had come to her home, where she signed the book.

Years after the drama between Mowry, Palmer, and Hardrict ended, the couple split. Immediately fans wanted to know the real reason Tia Mowry divorced her husband.

The reason, according to court documents, was irreconcilable differences. As for Keke Palmer, the actress ended up dating and welcoming a baby with boyfriend Darius Jackson.