NEED TO KNOW
- In late 2023, Amanda Keller publicly revealed that her husband, Harley Oliver, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017.
- Last week, Amanda discussed how her husband’s illness affected her recent 64th birthday on her podcast, Double A Chattery.
- She and Harley have been married for almost 36 years, and share two sons, Liam, 24, and Jack, 22.
She’s beloved for her bubbly nature and sense of humour, but seasoned radio and TV star Amanda Keller has shown her vulnerable side while sharing rare insight into her husband’s battle with Parkinson’s.
On the verge of tears as she spoke about her darling husband of almost 36 years, Harley Oliver, and living with his neurological disease, Amanda admitted that it all became too much for her on her recent 64th birthday.
“[Harley] had a day where he wasn’t himself and it brought up a whole lot of bad stuff in me,” Amanda confessed on her Double A Chattery podcast.
“I was angry at the world because I kept wanting to say, ‘It’s my birthday’… But it was all about him again that morning… So I selfishly was angry with him that it had to be today.
“And as I was dealing with Harley and trying to calm him… my phone was going ‘ping ping’, and I could see people saying, ‘hope you’re being spoilt’.”
For the most part, The Piano host has kept Harley’s health battle private, only revealing in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with the cruel condition.
Despite admitting she’d felt the emotional toll of being Harley’s carer lately, Amanda says those feelings led to a chance encounter with a stranger who opened her eyes to a hopeful new perspective.
“I was telling her this [birthday] story, and she said to me, ‘It depends what you mean by spoilt.’ And I had a complete reframe, and I started crying in the park,” she says of her sudden shift from frustration to gratitude.
“I’ve had 36 years and yet another birthday with this man. And also in the midst of how horrible this disease can be, in the midst of what it’s throwing at him, he’s still such a good man, and he’s still a loving man, and he’s still good natured,” she says.
“And I just thought, I am spoilt. Rather than feeling like I was carrying an anvil, I felt like I was carrying a feather of good luck. I’ve just felt my good fortune and I hadn’t felt that for a long time.”
Amanda has also credited her “remarkable” sons Liam, 24, and Jack, 22, for helping her care for their dad during “some of the toughest” years for their tight-knit family.
She told the The Courier Mail’s QWeekend recently that she’s “incredibly proud” of the way the family of four has coped with the challenging situation, and how that in turn has made it easier to focus on the positive.
“I see a really great kinesiologist, she’s like a psychologist for me, and she helps me find the sun in the places,” Amanda shares.
“All the great things about Harley, and our lives, our boys, and legacy and all those wonderful things, there’s so much sunshine in that to not just dwell in the dark bit. I’ve always had a pretty good idea about what matters most. I love my work, but family has always come first.”
Read more about her husband and family here.
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