Keke Palmer Couldn’t See Ex Darius Jackson on Father’s Day. Here’s Why (Exclusive)

Co-parenting looks good on Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson.

While the pair went through a very public breakup last year, they’ve since come to a place of positivity as they work to raise their son, Leo. However, Palmer and the 2-year-old weren’t able to see Jackson on Father’s Day earlier this month — for an understandable reason.

“We celebrated with my dad,” she tells PEOPLE. “His dad, Darius, is in the military, so he’s not able to be as around, but [he’s] making sure he’s getting what he needs to get and doing good for our son.”

Earlier this month, Palmer released her new visual album, Just Keke, which finds her reflecting on the breakup from Jackson and sharing her side of the story through its vulnerable lyrics.

She shared the project with Jackson ahead of its release, and he was supportive of the creative endeavor. “I think we both have grown a lot,” says the One of them Days actress. “Life is funny that way. Sometimes things happen, and they teach you about yourself, good or bad, and then you have to decide what to do with it.”

When it comes to co-parenting, Palmer stresses the importance of being “at your best for the baby” and how focusing on that element helped her find closure. “If the interpersonal drama becomes bigger than that, well, then they’re not co-parenting. They’re just being selfish,” she says.

Palmer explains, “For us, that was the big thing. ‘Can we get on the same page? Can we co-parent? Can we actually put Leo first?’ And then the closure piece is like, ‘I’m okay with that being all that it is. Because I don’t want to be in something that makes me unhappy, or you either.’ You can’t make people who you want them to be. You have to accept them for who they are.”

While she’s not publicly in a relationship at the moment, the “Off Script” singer often ponders the idea of giving Leo a sibling one day.

“I would love to,” says Palmer. “It’s one of those things I think about all the time. It’s like, when that’s going to happen, if that’s going to happen, how that’s going to happen.”