Tyler James Williams' Relationship History Is Not Too Elementary

The will-they-won’t-they of Abbott Elementary characters Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) is even more titillating than the classic Ross and Rachel relationship. As we prepare for Season 3, we can’t wait to see what happens between Quinta and Tyler’s characters. Tyler even went on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show to tease that they might not ever end up together.

But in reality, Tyler is a catch. Fans of Abbott Elementary are already lining up to date the actor, who told Bustle in 2022 that he uses the exclusive dating app, Raya, to try to find his person. Even though he’s reportedly single now, what is Tyler James Williams’ relationship history?

Rumors have been swirling for years that Tyler and multitalented starlet Keke Palmer had a romance in the past, although it was never fully confirmed. Even still, some sources believe that Tyler and Keke had a showmance behind the scenes of co-starring in a 2009 episode of True Jackson VP, although the love affair ended shortly after.

While Tyler and Karina Pasian never confirmed their relationship publicly, they were seen together often during the period they supposedly dated. Various sources, including Us Weekly, believe that plenty of evidence supports a relationship stronger than friendship. There are plenty of photos of them together, and Tyler even appeared in Karina's music video for her 2014 hit song, "Solitaire."

After Tyler and Karina parted ways, he reportedly started seeing actor Anastasia Baranova casually. By 2017, they were exclusive, as made clear in Instagram posts they both shared with pics of each other. Even still, shortly after they went public, not much else was seen from the pair, and by the following year, it seemed like they called it quits.

Tyler has managed to keep his private life relatively out of the spotlight considering how long he's been in the public eye. On the SiriusXM radio show, Tyler shared how he was a child actor on the set of Sesame Street, so he's really been hustling. Perhaps that's why he just hasn't had much time to date. Even now that he's on Raya, he seems to be prioritizing his career above dating, so it'll be challenging for him to find someone to spend time with.

However, in 2018, someone used his face to encourage black men to date white women, according to The Jasmine Brand. Tyler responded to this very problematic post by saying, "I feel I need to address this 'cause this dumba-- used my face," he tweeted. "I date who I date because that's who I vibe with at the time. Any ethnicity. The grass ain't greener nowhere. You've probably got a problem with black women 'cause you a weak a-- man, fam. And this post proves it."

Regardless of who he dates, we just want Tyler to be happy! And if that means he ends up dating Quinta (who is married, so this isn't realistic), we definitely wouldn't complain.