“If I look back in 10 years time and never did it, I’d be p*ssed off with myself.”
He’s fresh out of the Love Island villa, the world is his oyster and Jack Keating is spilling all the tea about his time in Casa Amor, and yes, Ekin-Su really is a Boyzone stan.
With his life being a little more hectic over the last few days, so much so he hasn’t gotten a chance to watch the show, Jack took some time to chat with Her.ie all about his Casa Amor journey.
“It seems pretty daunting before you get in there but once you get stuck in, the first night going in, the nerves definitely kicked in but you get your feet beneath you a little bit more the next day and forget the cameras are there and get stuck in,” the 23 year old said.
“All the girls were kind of closed off in their relationships, I think I got on very well with Paige, we had great chats and I don’t think any of them actually made it into the show but it is what it is. She seemed like she was still pretty keen with Jacques but maybe if I had more time in there, you never know.
“Gemma is lovely as well, you get to see a different side to her when you’re in there as well, she’s hilarious.
“I tried to go in there with no regrets, I don’t think you realise how little time you have, it was hectic the first couple of days. I kind of wish I chatted to Danica and Indiyah more, all the lads are looking for a chat, you almost have to book time with some of the girls, it was hilarious. It’s pretty crazy, that’s not how I would be, I was really put out of my comfort zone. I just had to get stuck in and see what happened.”
When Jack decided to go on the show, it wasn’t originally his idea. His sister Missy planted the idea into his head after ITV had contacted her about it, and it wasn’t long before he was jumping at the chance.
“They’ve approached her [Missy] a few times but it’s not the right time for her right now, she wants to focus on different things. That’s kind of how that happened, they approached Missy and Missy wasn’t really feeling it.”
Over a few drinks, Missy came up with the idea of Jack taking it on, and after sleeping on the idea for only a night, he was on board.
“[I] thought if I look back in 10 years time and never did it, I’d be p*ssed off with myself so I’m happy I did it, no regrets about it.”
While his time on the show was cut short, Jack’s departure had one islander devastated as she was clearly a big fan. Of course we’re talking about Ekin-Su’s “life is a rollercoaster” comment.
As it turns out, the recoupling wasn’t the only time she had mentioned Ronan Keating to him, obviously knowing from the get-go who Jack was, and the two had an inside joke about it.
“We had a joke about that from the start, that wouldn’t have been the first time she said it to me. She’d be saying it to me before we go to bed, ‘life’s a rollercoaster’ and I’d be like ‘just gonna ride it all night long’, we’d have a good bit of banter about it.”
“She said that’s her song, that’s her motto in life. Ekin is great, we got on well, she’s hilarious. I hope her and Davide win the show.”
While Ekin-Su is clearly a massive Boyzone fan (as she should be), the other islanders were clueless as to who Jack was when he first walked in, much to the Dubliner’s delight.
“When me and Gemma had our chat, I’m sure she was told by the producers, I’m not really sure. I don’t think anyone would’ve known if I didn’t tell the lads, I tried to keep it on the downlow as much as possible but obviously my chat with Gemma got picked up heavily in the press.”
While Jack unfortunately didn’t get as much screen time as he should have, he and Gemma’s conversation made it to our screens and while everyone at home loved to see him get some air time, his dad was less than impressed by what was said, and Jack didn’t hear the end of it when he got home.
As Jack revealed to Gemma that she wasn’t the only one with a famous father, he said Ronan had retired, and you can only imagine that this was the last thing the 45 year old wanted to hear about himself.
Laughing it off, Jack said: “I got a little bit of stick when I got home, for sure, he said he almost fell out of his chair when he heard what I said. I was trying to say that he had retired from Boyzone and touring solo but the way I said it came across so badly. In my head it sounded like I said it so normally but obviously I don’t know what I was thinking. Silly.”
While his dad wasn’t too happy about the comment, he got over it quickly, and Jack said his family couldn’t have been more proud of him, and like himself, are excited for where the future will take him.
