Ronan Keating’s son Jack reveals ‘shock’ of being a dad and co-parenting rules with ex

Ronan Keating’s son, Jack, became a father for the first time in March when his daughter Maya Ann was born following his debut on ITV2’s Love Island last summer

Ronan Keating’s son has admitted he was shocked to find out he was going to become a father for the first time.

Jack, 24 and his ex Keely Iqbal, welcomed baby Maya Ann into the world in March after the budding actor made his TV debut on Love Island last summer.

Explaining how fatherhood had affected his life, Jack said: “It’s changed massively in the best way, obviously it was a big shock, it wasn’t part of the plan. But the past few months have been amazing. Maya is five and a half months old now, and that time has absolutely flown by. My life has definitely changed, I’m not the most important person anymore, my priorities have changed.”

Jack Keating has admitted he was shocked to find out he was going to become a father for the first time. (Image: Instagram)

Maya with her mum, Keely Iqbal (Image: Irish Mirror)

Jack explained he didn’t tell anyone about Keely’s pregnancy apart from his close family, because the former couple were no longer together. The two now co-parent Maya with Keely living in Birmingham, while Jack is based in London. Sharing he’s looking forward to seeing more of the tot in the near future, the 24-year-old told Goss.ie : “I get up to see Maya as much as possible, which is lovely, she’s finishing breastfeeding soon as well which is going to be great because I’ll be able to spend a bit more time with her. I’ll get to have her over for weekends which I’m really excited for.”

The proud dad added he can’t wait to travel over to Ireland with Maya to spend time with his family, with her passport due in the next few weeks, saying dad Ronan and the rest of his family are “so excited”.

Jack shared an adorable photo of his baby daughter in June as he took to Instagram, flashing a beaming smile posing with Maya while out for dinner. The tot was propped up on the reality star’s knee, sporting a cosy-looking coat as Jack captioned the snap: “The best dinner date.”

His post drew a flurry of comments from fans and followers, who were all excited to see him with his daughter. One wrote: “My heart” alongside a string of emojis while another commented: “That little face”. Others were quick to brand Maya “adorable”, “so cute” and “gorgeous”.

Jack says he’s now single following his short stint on Love Island after he failed to make the transition from Casa Amor to the main villa. However, the celebrity offspring hasn’t given up on his love life, saying he’d like to appear on reality shows, including Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle and Celebs Go Dating.