Amanda Keller thanks fans for support after sharing husband Harley Oliver’s health battle
The Aussie radio star has taken to Instagram with a sweet photo of herself and her husband, after revealing the pair’s secret six-year battle.
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Amanda Keller has thanked fans for their support after revealing her husband, Harley Oliver, has privately been battling Parkinson’s disease for six years.
The Australian radio and TV host aired the devastating news for the first time on her new podcast, Double A Chattery, on Thursday, sharing a defiant story of love conquering all amid life’s brutal challenges.
Taking to Instagram on Friday, Keller noted how “people are lovely”, as she uploaded a rare photo of herself and Oliver, who have been married for 34 years and share two adult sons.
“Thank you for your kind messages about Harley, and the news that he is living with Parkinson’s,” Keller, 61, added.
“As he says, life is good, and we appreciate your good wishes.”
It comes after Keller, who co-hosts WSFM’s Jonesy & Amanda in Sydney in the mornings, explained why she hadn’t spoken about their situation in recent years.
“I still don’t know what to say … It’s hard when people ask, ‘What’s going on with Harley?’,” she said. “People are shocked at the changes, and I can’t make that better for anybody.
“It’s not a surprise to me, but I still don’t know what to say.”
Oliver featured on the podcast later in the episode, revealing the recent death of his mother made him more comfortable about going public with his diagnosis.
“She wouldn’t have dealt very well with the idea I had Parkinson’s, she knows, living in a retirement village, what that means. I wanted to keep it away from her,” Oliver said.
“[When she died] – that pressure of trying to pretend I was really well, was gone.
“It was better for her, not having to worry about me as much as herself.”
He went on to talk about the struggles he was facing battling the incurable disease, saying tasks as simple as “getting out of the car” and doing up the buttons on his shirt takes him a long time.
The former Living Room host went on to add, amid the ups and downs she’s faced with their new way of living, she and the couple’s two sons Liam and Jack had become “fiercely defensive” of Oliver, citing a confronting encounter they had with a waiter at a restaurant recently.
“I was with Jack, and this waiter was talking to us and he said, ‘You were here with an old man a few weeks ago, and he looked really ill’,” Keller said.
She continued: “It shocked us, that this rich man we know, and this rich love we have for this man … Was seen from the outside to look like that.
“We said [to each other], ‘Let’s talk about how amazing dad is, that this guy [waiter] just doesn’t know about.’
“I say to Harley, ‘We can’t choose our dismount, but I still choose you.’ That guy in the restaurant sees this guy prematurely aged and not looking healthy, but the richness of the journey that brings us here is a fabulous journey, and there’s still more to come.”
The family recently bought a holiday house on the NSW South Coast, having sidelined any future plans in a bid to savour the moments they have.
“I’ve had to work out how I feel about the future, and I’ve given up. Not in a bad way, but I can’t afford to think what will happen in 5 or 10 years time,” Keller said. “I just can’t think about that.”
Originally published as Amanda Keller thanks fans for support after sharing husband Harley Oliver’s health battle
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