‘Love Is Blind’ Star Jordan Keltner’s Shares His Reaction To Sparkle Megan’s Surprise Pregnancy: “I’m So Happy She Was Able To Meet Her Goal”

Reality TV is cluttered with kooky personalities, from self-centered villains to tone-deaf airheads, but Jordan Keltner seems to be an outlier. Deemed by the internet as the most normal person on Love is Blind Season 9, Jordan stole our hearts when he stepped into the pods as a single father, vulnerably sharing that he’s raising his son, Luca, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes. Although he’s been catapulted into the spotlight through the popular Netflix dating experiment, he still refers to himself as a “regular dude.” A “regular dude” who blends chicken into smoothies with Crystal Light (and drinks it 30 seconds). I digress.

Throughout the season, we watch Jordan’s journey with a significantly different significant other, “Sparkle” Megan Walerius. The two didn’t make it to the altar because Megan preferred luxury, while Jordan preferred a laid-back lifestyle. But a lot has happened since the pair parted ways, including Megan having a baby of her own. With the reunion recently released, his ex-fiancée dropping huge news, and Jordan being dubbed the season’s golden boy, DECIDER had to catch up with the 30-year-old LIB star. The reality TV cast member opened up about going from an online dater to getting married on national television, why he kept his tattoos under wraps, and how an Instagram account led him all the way to discovering Megan’s pregnancy.

“I think, right when [the] cast dropped, or maybe the first line of episodes, I got a DM from a burner account. No followers or anything. And they just had intimate details on the experiment, which was kind of weird. They put “X MEGAN”, like x and all caps, and then said,“I have this juicy information for you that you’d maybe like to hear before the reunion.”

Keep reading for DECIDER’s full interview with the cast member of Love Is Blind Season 9.

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DECIDER: Jordan, you’ve been labeled one of the season’s biggest “green flags.” Someone even joked online that “those chicken smoothies are doing him well.” How does it feel seeing that reaction and becoming a bit of a fan favorite this season?

JORDAN KELTNER: You know, I’m trying my very best not to read any of the comments. Good or bad. At the end of the day, I’m just a regular dude. I stand by that, and I’ll die by that. I do sincerely appreciate all the outreach and the support I’ve been receiving. I’m trying to keep my head normal size, so not reading any of the comments. But that’s awesome. 

Speaking of those smoothies, your infamous chicken smoothie really became the moment this season. Can you walk us through the idea behind that, and why you don’t just season the chicken and eat it after it’s cooked?

So I probably discovered it on TikTok three or four years ago, through just some bodybuilding document. I’ve been trying to find the OG clip so I can give this guy credit, because I did not make this. Just wanna be clear. I just saw it and was like, “That looks convenient.” And as a single parent with a full-time job, I’m always looking to make my life just a little more convenient. And then just through my trial and error, I figured out, “Oh, if you don’t season it, it tastes way less chickeny.” And then the citrus MiO or Crystal Light, whatever you put in, it really drowns out any of the remaining chicken flavor. I’m just trying to sleep an extra 10 minutes in the morning. That’s really my goal here. People are like, “You can just eat it.” And I’m like, “Yeah, you could, or you could just drink it.” I think 30 seconds is my normal [time]. I normally time it too. I don’t know if that’s a red flag, but I’m just trying to be on with my day.

I’m curious about your tattoos. Luca’s mom was worried before you went on the show that you might be villainized for them, and you even kept them hidden from Megan in the pods. What’s the story there, what’s your relationship with your tattoos, and why did you decide to keep them under wraps at first?

I think I started getting tattooed because my parents were super strict, and they always said not to get tattoos. And obviously, it’s this very unique, interesting subculture, and I really enjoy hanging out at tattoo shops and the stories that come about. In terms of Megan, I just was really trying to lean into the whole experiment. I didn’t want her to like me more like me less, due to having tattoos. So I do apologize for my white lie, but I was just making her lean into it, for sure.

Ha ha, A little white lie is okay sometimes. But switching to your pod connection, Megan recently revealed that she had a baby. What was your initial reaction to the news? Have you given her any parenting advice?

No, no parenting advice. That’s my main advice. Parents don’t normally want it, and if they want it, they’ll ask for it. So just don’t go about giving people unsolicited advice, especially if it’s a sensitive subject. I know that from experience. But when I found out it wasn’t even jarring or anything. I just said, “No, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for you.” I know that she really wanted to be a mom, and I’m so happy she was able to meet her goal. And then again, I was just trying to be tactful. It’s none of my business where she stands and things like that. I just said, “I wish you guys nothing but the best, health, and happiness.”

At the reunion you mentioned that someone reached out to you on Instagram trying to “stir the pot” about Megan’s pregnancy. Can you tell us what actually happened there and how you handled that situation?

I think, right when [the] cast dropped, or maybe the first line of episodes, I got a DM from a burner account. No followers or anything. And they just had intimate details on the experiment, which was kind of weird. They put “X MEGAN”, like x and all caps, and then said, like, “I have this juicy information for you that you’d maybe like to hear before the reunion.” So I just took a screenshot of it, and I think I sent it to her [Megan] or I called her because I’d heard rumors before, and I never really thought to reach out. But when someone reaches out and they know the reunions’ coming up, or filming is about to come up. So it was kind of strange. And I just wanted to make sure she was alerted to that, and in terms of safety and she could set boundaries where she needed to, just to give her some time to prep that. It’s like, obviously someone is trying to stir the pot here. That’s when we had our initial conversation about it.

We know you spoke a lot on the show (and in interviews) about why you decided to do Love Is Blind, saying you were in a serious mindset and ready for a real relationship. Since then, you said you don’t see yourself doing anything serious anytime soon and that you’ve just been going on casual dates. What changed for you, why the shift now?

Yeah, honestly, that’s a great question. I just think, I don’t want to say it took wind out of my sails, but [it] kind of removed some motivation from me dating, and I really want to protect my son. I think that was semi-irresponsible of me to interject him into a relationship like that. It wasn’t him, and that wasn’t Megan, that was me, that wasn’t production. I just want to be very clear on that. I was the one who introduced Luca to everything. I just don’t want to subject him to something like that again. I don’t want to do that for my well-being and for his. So just kind of having healthy boundaries. I just don’t see myself introducing Luca to anyone anytime soon. And that would be going from casual to serious in terms of [a] relationship to me.

Why did you decide not to bring Luca to the cameras?

So I was 50/50, and his mom was 100% no. And I told the production team, “Hey, his mom has the final say. She says no, she wants to respect his privacy.” And at the end of the day, I completely agree with what we did. And because people are weird, and my son, again, didn’t sign up to be on it.

You’ve said before that you learned a lot about yourself from doing Love Is Blind. Looking back now, what do you think was your biggest takeaway from the whole experience, both personally and in terms of how you approach relationships?

I was just a big, big online dater. And it’s the polar opposite of what I signed up to do, which is, you’re literally just looking at someone’s face for a half a second and deciding if you like them or not. So, very superficial. And then oftentimes, I think you might be on a date with someone who’s very attractive to you, but there’s nothing at all relatable, but you’re just kind of blinded by their attractive appearance or whatever. So I felt like going into the pods really taught me how to be intentional with what I was doing.

Finally, since you’ve become such a fan favorite, what’s next for you? Would you ever do reality TV again (maybe Perfect Match or another Netflix show) or are you ready to step out of that spotlight for a bit?

Honestly, I would love to be some form of entertainer. I don’t know if I’d do dating again. I navigated it. So now that I know what I know, I’d just be very, very careful and tactful with how I navigate it and introduce my son. Do I think it’s possible that I meet someone, end up getting married on a TV show? For sure. Or I wouldn’t have gone in the first place. But I just don’t know if I’d do reality TV in the dating realm. I really want to go and Dancing With The Stars. That’s what I’m trying to manifest.

Who would you want to be your partner?

That’s an amazing question. Someone that can teach me a lot and with a lot of patience because they’ll need [it].

Are you a good dancer?

I’d like to think so. I mean, [to] everyone else watching, probably not, but I have fun. So that’s all that matters to me.

Maybe we’ll see Jordan on Dancing with the Stars. Fingers crossed. 

We’re gonna do it. I’m speaking into existence.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.