Pregnant 'American Idol' Contestant Met Her Future Husband at Show Audition
American Idol played Cupid for two aspiring singers who are already married after meeting at an audition for the long-running singing competition's 20th season. Haley Slaton, 23, and Jordan Myles met at the October 2021 audition in Austin, Texas, and married in December. Slaton, who was five and a half months pregnant when she auditioned for the show, was featured in Sunday night's episode. Myles will appear in a future episode.
When Slaton was introduced on Sunday, her package didn't include the details of her love story. The Swisher, Iowa resident told The Gazette she and Myles married "pretty quick" after their meeting. "We just knew. We started right off the bat talking to each other, and it ended up being an everyday thing," Slaton recalled.
Slaton was already pregnant when they met, but Myles "stepped up to be a father," she said. "I couldn't thank him enough for that," Slaton told The Gazette. "We're very in love, we're very happy that we met, and I feel like another reason why I was on the show was to meet him. That was a great experience – to meet someone that I finally could spend the rest of my life with." Myles lived in Louisiana, but he has since moved to Iowa. The couple plans to move to Cedar Rapids in May. On Sunday, Slaton's baby boy, Jaelyn, will turn two months old.
Slaton said she has dreamed of singing on Idol. Her mother, Sarah Gorman, and her late grandmother, Alice Fitzpatrick, encouraged her to audition last year. Slaton has been singing since she was three years old and enjoys performing songs from any genre.
"I was definitely very nervous because being pregnant on the show, I obviously didn't have a lot of wind," Slaton told The Gazette of the audition process. "I was very nervous that I wasn't going to be able to hold a note, or something was going to happen, but once I got up there in front of the judges, they made me feel really at home. They made me feel like they're just humans, too, and we're all human, so I went up there and gave it my best."Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner
Slaton performed Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" for judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Katy Perry. They asked her to sing another song, and she picked Adele's "One and Only." The judges were so impressed that they all voted to give her a golden ticket to Hollywood. Slaton told the camera she hoped her audition would encourage her son to follow his dreams just like his mother during her segment. "I just really want to do this for my son and give him a really good life, and I really want to show him to never stop chasing his dreams in the future. Never give up on your dreams," she said. "Mommy went and chased hers."
Several other singers have fallen in love after meeting on Idol, reports PEOPLE. After meeting during Season 16, Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner married and welcomed a daughter last year. Season 16 winner Maddie Poppe is dating runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson. Season 3 contestant Diana DeGarmo married Season 5 contestant Ace Young in 2013.