Ronan Keating breaks silence on his Love Island star son Jack's surprise baby

Ronan Keating has spoken about his grandchild for the first time.

Jack Keating, 23, surprised Love Island fans earlier this month when he announced he'd welcomed his first child, a daughter, only eight months after leaving the villa.

Last summer, Jack joined the hit ITV2 dating show as a Casa Amor bombshell in July 2022.

Viewers watched as he tried and failed to woo Michael Owens’ daughter, Gemma Owen, and he was ultimately dumped at the re-coupling after failing to find a match.

After announcing the news of his baby’s birth, Love Island were quick to point out that the arrival of the baby means that Jack would have been a dad-to-be while in the villa.

@jackkeating11/Instagram

The former Boyzone singer, 46, spoke about Jack’s surprise baby during The One Show on Monday (20 March).

Ronan’s co-presenter Jermaine Jenas made a cheeky joke at the start of the show by calling him ‘grandad’.

The dad-of-five continued: “Yes I am. My son had a gorgeous baby.”

Former footballer Jenas continued: “You prefer to be called something else don’t you?”

Keating revealed he likes being called 'Pops'.

Jack shared an adorable black and white picture of him cuddling his daughter on Instagram on 9 March.

The Boyzone star's son captioned the picture of him holding his baby daughter: "Welcome to the world my little [princess emoji]."

This prompted a wave of supportive replies, including one from 'Pops' Ronan who wrote 'Little cutie' alongside a heart emoji.

Jack then went on to confirm to The Sun that he shares his daughter, who was conceived a month before he went into the Love Island villa, with his ex-girlfriend Keely Iqbal.

Although the new parents are no longer together, they are reportedly 'looking forward to co-parenting.'

He said: "I am delighted to announce the birth of my little girl.

ITV / Love Island

"Her mother and I have decided to keep her identity private for now and we ask everyone to please respect our privacy at this time.

"My daughter's mother and I are not together, however we look forward to co-parenting and giving our little girl the best support system that she needs.

"This is an exciting new chapter for me and my family and I am completely besotted already. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a father and give my daughter the most amazing life."

Topics: Celebrity, Love Island

Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.