Much of Malia Obama and Dawit Eklund’s relationship has been kept under wraps. As a result, how and when the romance began and whether it’s still going strong is unclear. The pair was spotted together multiple times in 2022, starting in August when they were photographed walking together in Los Angeles.
By this point, Eklund had already made a name for himself in the music industry. In 2016, a profile from The Washington Post detailed Eklund’s career as a dance music producer and touted his international style. That same year, Eklund told the outlet, “Ethiopian music is super distinct,” adding, “I think there are a lot of misconceptions still about music that comes out of Africa in general. I don’t know how exactly people listen to my music, but I would most certainly love it if it was organic without any stereotypical thoughts in the back of their minds.”
Besides their big Hollywood dreams, Malia and Eklund also have something else in common –– their fathers’ high-powered careers. Dawit’s father, Jon Eklund, is a former State Department officer who spent time in U.S. embassies in Africa. While Dawit’s father is American, his mother is Ethiopian. Malia’s father, former U.S. President Barack Obama, also has one American and one African parent.