Love Is Blind Season 9's Jordan Keltner opens up about fatherhood and new children's book

In a recent interview on Colorado Conversations, Love Is Blind Season 9 cast member Jordan Keltner opened up about fatherhood and his new children’s book series, Dear Luca, which is inspired by his young son and his journey as a single dad.

Keltner, who appeared on Love Is Blind Season 9 as a single father from Denver, discussed how becoming a dad changed his life and led him to write picture books focused on emotions and taking charge of each day.

Keltner’s son, Luca, is central to his life and to his new project, the children’s book series Dear Luca. He described Luca as “the most handsome, polite, attentive, amazing little boy.

Just the coolest kid ever. Literally my daily inspiration for everything.” He added,

“Before I became a dad, I would always question my purpose here, like what I’m doing. And once I had my son, I was completely answered. So he’s just what I wake up for every single day.”

The Dear Luca books began when Luca was learning how to read in kindergarten. He said, 

“I was like, wow, this is actually really cool. Like, I love this feeling. It’s, like, very cool to watch him struggle through words and use, you know, the sight pictures and stuff. So I was just like, ah, you know, let me write a picture book. I don’t know where necessarily, it just kind of spawned out of just him learning how to read.”

Keltner co‑wrote the books with his best friend, a longtime teacher who specializes in social‑emotional learning.

Their goal was “to really have kids understand and dive into talks about emotion as early as possible,” and the books are geared toward children ages zero to four, with bright colors and illustrations. He said, 

“We definitely wanted the parents to, you know, be reminded of things themselves, and I mean, this is, it’s a daily reminder for me, too.”

Jordan Keltner’s journey on Love Is Blind Season 9

Jordan Keltner joined Love Is Blind Season 9 after learning about the show on a Tinder date.

He had never seen an episode of Love Is Blind before, and he initially put off applying because the process felt long and he assumed no one would see his application. He said, 

“I applied like super late in the process, and then I applied the next day. I had like a casting person calling me. And I said, that’s weird.”

He described his application as something he did quickly, “just assuming no one was ever going to see it,” and admitted he was “not a very serious person” and “just trolled” through it, meaning he was himself rather than trying to perform. He said, 

“I was just not a very serious person. So I just trolled. I don’t want to say trolled, but I was myself through the entire application process and just assuming no one was ever going to see it. And then, yeah, next thing you know, someone was calling me to jump on a call.”

On Love Is Blind Season 9, Keltner fell in love with a woman named Megan Walerius, who went by the nickname “Sparkle Meg” in the pods.

He recalled thinking, “How are you 34 calling yourself Sparkle Meg?” and said it was “the least favorite nickname I’ve ever encountered,” but added, 

“Everybody needs some sparkle in their life. So maybe that’s what I needed at the time, for sure.”

He and Megan got engaged in the pods and continued their relationship after the reveal, but they ultimately broke up after the experiment. “No, no. We broke up, unfortunately,” he said, adding,  

“But I think everything happened the way it needed to. So no, no hard feelings. She’s a great person. We still chat here and there. But yeah, no, she’s doing her own thing. I’m doing my own thing.”

Type 1 diabetes and advocacy

Keltner’s son has type 1 diabetes, a topic he discussed on Love Is Blind Season 9 and in the Colorado Conversations interview.

He explained that type 1 diabetes “is not something anyone can control. It’s genetic. It’s an autoimmune disease,” and emphasized that it is “very manageable now” thanks to advances in technology. He said, 

“The life expectancy was like under three years once you were diagnosed, pre the discovery of insulin. So, yeah, it’s just again, it’s crazy because, you know, I think people like me and you who don’t have it just it’s you just completely take it for granted.”

He urged parents to be aware of the symptoms, noting that type 1 diabetes is “one of the most misdiagnosed childhood diseases.” He said, 

“If your kid is excessively thirsty or they’re wetting, they’re having a lot of accidents like pee accidents or stuff, or their pee smells excessively sweet, like you got to take him to get checked. And then just it’s so simple to measure your blood sugar.”

Keltner also spoke about the emotional toll of watching his son go through the daily management of the disease. He said, 

“It’s such an inconvenience, you know, how many times you have to get pricked and prodded and you’re changing sensors and you’re going high and you’re going low in terms of blood sugar. And that makes you feel good and act different. And it’s just very scary to think about.”

As for future projects, Keltner confirmed that Dear Luca is a series and that he is already working on the fourth book.

The books are currently sold exclusively through dearluca.com, but he hopes to expand to Amazon and local bookstores. He said, 

“We’re just trying to pick the ones that vibe with us the most and that we can, you know, we think we can make the most difference with.”

Stay tuned for more updates.