Amanda Keller has opened up about how her family is doing amid her husband’s deteriorating health.
Amanda’s husband, Harley Oliver, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017. In 2023, the veteran comedian and radio host shared the news publicly.
This week, while talking on her radio show GOLD101.7’s Jonesy & Amanda, the 63-year-old said Harley’s condition had been “hard” on the family and had left her feeling a bit isolated.
“It’s funny because I usually only socialise with some very close friends and really, with my sons. And I thought that might make things easier for Harley,” she explained. “But it’s hard actually, because I think I really don’t want him to feel excluded from his own family.”
She said that although their two sons — Liam and Jack — now live out of home, they visit their father regularly.
“We have family dinner once a week and the boys drop in throughout the week as well,” she said “But it’s really hard.”
“But at the same time, I want the boys to have time away from all that too, or time with me where we can talk about that.”
Amanda said that during a recent trip to Tasmania with her son Jack, they were able to finally let off some steam.
“It was a shame Liam couldn’t come, but we had such a terrific time,” she said. “There was one night where the first night we got there, you know, when you’re away on holidays, you go hard the first night and regret it for the rest of the time.
“We had something to eat, and I said, let’s just have one drink in this bar and we’ll call it a night. 8 o’clock. Next minute, it’s twelve thirty. We’d been dancing in some club. Not club, it was a bar, you know, Jack was obviously the youngest person there. And the next day we were both just so embarrassed at our behaviour. But it was such a great night to just let off steam.”
The Living Room co-host also said the mother-son duo were able to talk about Harley and what he’s going through during the trip.
In an interview with Stellar last year, Amanda admitted she found it hard to accept Harley’s diagnosis at first.
“He’s so pragmatic with this. He just gets on with it. And I’ve gone through a phase of being angry because I’d say things to him like, ‘Oh, come on, stand upright’, or ‘Your voice…’,” she explained.
“I knew what it was, he’d been diagnosed. I knew what was going on, but I found it hard to accept.”
During an appearance on ABC’s The Assembly, Amanda said she was in awe of the way Harley was adjusting to their changing circumstances.
“He’s so good with it, in a way that I’m not, actually. We’re learning to find ourselves in the midst of changing circumstances, and part of me thinks — it’s easy for me to say, he’s the one going through it — but part of me thinks it’s a real privilege to be with someone long enough that you go through these changes with them.
“So yes, I love him very much, even though we’ve got some stuff going on,” she concluded.
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