Amanda Keller was asked about her husband during an interview. What she said next brought her to tears.

Amanda Keller is opening up about the health challenges her husband, Harley Oliver, is going through.

The Assembly showcases journalists-in-training — all of whom are on the spectrum — asking high-profile Australians questions. This week, it was Amanda Keller's turn. 

Student Savannah asked Keller: "Do you love your husband?"

Keller, who obviously does love her husband, then became visibly emotional while recounting her answer.

"I think I'm going to cry, because my husband is going through some stuff at the moment. My husband has Parkinson's disease, and we've been married 34 years, and life is changing around us," she explained.

"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."

The Australian radio and TV personality added: "So yes, I love him very much."

Watch: Michael J. Fox shares hopeful message on Parkinson's battle. Post continues below.

Parkinson's Disease is an incurable brain disorder that causes uncontrollable movements and starts with gradual tremors. Other symptoms are slow movement, stiffness and loss of balance.

Back in October 2023, Keller announced her husband's diagnosis, which came about over six years ago. Only recently did they feel comfortable to share that news publicly.

During an episode of her podcast Double A Chattery, she described the moment they knew something wasn't quite right.

"I first noticed Harley’s footfall around the house changing, like he was dragging his leg, and his hands started to shake, and he said he'd just been whacked in the thumbs as a wicketkeeper playing cricket," she explained.

"But I felt something was going on... I know Harley so well, and how protective he is of his inner core, he was absolutely scared and in denial, and who would blame him?"

Shortly after, they got bad news.

"When he came home [from the doctor], we both just sat there completely numb," Keller recalled. 

"Two days later, I went with our eldest son to an Open Day — he was in Year 11 — and I fought tears all day just looking at these people at the beginning of their journey, and I was so envious."

It was the moment the TV and radio star realised life was changing, not only for herself and her husband but also for the couple's two sons, Liam and Jack.

"I had such a flashback to when that was me. And I thought, 'Their journey is just starting.' And something closed off for me,'" she described. "I don't necessarily feel that now, but this is how I felt in the early days."

Keller was also unflinchingly honest about the reality of living with a loved one with the disease.

"All the things that [Parkinson's] does [to you], I thought, 'Why isn't he fighting it?' And of course, I've come to see he can't control this, and neither can I, and that's been a big lesson for me. So I've become kinder, and sadder."

Despite being a self-confessed "over-sharer", the radio host kept the news of her husband's health battle a secret for six 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."

The WSFM co-host said she sometimes "hates herself" for the way she feels about the disease and their living situation. In reality, though, Keller realises she's just mourning when times were simpler.

"I miss the ease of life. Of going to a restaurant, [but then] Harley's back gets sore, and he's quietly spoken so the noise overwhelms him. I miss the ease of travel. It changes us," she said.

"But we're not alone in that. Life is this stuff, isn't it? We talk a lot about long-term relationships, and how popular culture celebrates the beginning and the end. But the meat of life, the joy of life, the sadness of life, the true human condition, lies in the middle," Keller added.

This article was originally published in October 2023, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Instagram @amandakeller.