On Thursday morning the pair paid a visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the third time they have been seen together in just nine days. She was wearing baggy green pants and a tight-fitting crop top that showcased her tight tummy. He was in green shorts with a picture of reggae legend Bob Marley and a pink t-shirt The pair have been spotted walking close together twice in a week.
First they were seen picking up a takeout lunch on July 26 and then again they went for a casual stroll together on August 2.
DailyMail.com was also the first to reveal the identity of Malia’s first serious beau, Rory Farquharson (not pictured). The closeness of the Malia and Dawit led to speculation that her long-time romance with her British beau was over.
Eklund is the son of retired State Department officer Jon Eklund, 72, who worked at several US embassies in Africa, and his Ethiopian wife Yeshi, 66. Dawit is co-founder of Washington, D.C.-based record label 1432 R, which specializes in Ethiopian music. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is also a registered Democrat.
A Washington Post article about the label in 2016 said: ‘Their music seamlessly brings together house music grooves, the stutter of U.K. garage, an uneasy electronic ambience, and – perhaps most notably – Ethiopian folk music.’ Dawit told the paper: ‘Ethiopian music is super distinct. There are only four or five musical scales that they play in; each has its own meaning and attitude and mood.’
He was educated at the International Community School in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, before going to George Washington University where he studied International Development in Africa. Dawit – who also goes by David, the Anglicized version of his name – is one of four children.
His father Jon was heavily involved in helping the refugee crisis caused by the war in Sudan in the early 2000s, when hundreds of thousands fled to Ethiopia to escape the fighting. His mother Yeshi comes from a successful family of business people in Ethiopia. His sister Sara Eklund was featured in a 2019 Vogue article for introducing menstrual cups to Ethiopia.
Since his retirement, John and Yeshi have settled in Abidjan, the capital of the West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire, although they also have a house in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Chantilly, Virginia.
Malia moved to Los Angeles last year, after graduating from Harvard, to pursue a career as a screenwriter. She is currently working as a screenwriter on Donald Glover’s upcoming Amazon show.
