Radio star Amanda Keller has reduced fans to tears after sharing her heartbreak over an impending goodbye.
Amanda, 64, shares her home in Coogee, NSW, with husband Harley Oliver – who suffers from the progressive brain disorder Parkinson’s diseas – as well as their beloved border collie Mini.
But in a heart-rending segment on the GOLD network’s Jonesy & Amanda show on September 2, Amanda revealed that Mini has just weeks left to live.
“I wasn’t going to cry, but I’ve cried every day for the last two weeks,” Amanda admitted in the emotional reveal.
“Mini’s still with us. This is my 14-year-old border collie, who in my home is the sunshine and the glue.”
The star told her radio show co-host Brendan Jones that even though her husband “isn’t well” and the couple has carers in the house, it was a “happy, loving house”.
“But the dog is absolutely the burst of sunshine, and she’s 14, so I’ve been realistic about this, but… I guess… we all, with our older dogs, we all think that it won’t happen.”
Amanda explained that the morning after she attended this year’s TV Week Logie Awards, she was having a coffee with her son, Liam and Mini when she felt “a couple of lumps” under Mini’s neck.
A trip to the vet led to a devastating diagnosis – Mini had lymphoma, a common cancer.
“They said, ‘Look, we’ve got maybe between four and eight weeks with her’, and I… I don’t even know if we’ll get that far, and so you know, I’m just, I’m just loving every minute.”
Amanda broke down as she reflected on how she connects with other owners of older pets whenever she goes for a walk with Mini – knowing full well that they are all “cherishing these special, fleeting moments”.
Amanda said it was something she found “just so hard”.
“And the thing is, this is how it goes. This is the circle of life,” the star added. “When you buy a dog or a cat or any of those, 14 years is a good innings for a dog.
“And I know very well she’s had a brilliant life. We’ve loved her so much, and she’s loved us. But when you enter that contract, you know you will outlive your pet, but somehow you forget that.”
Friends and fans of the star were deeply moved by her emotional reveal – taking to Instagram to share their love and revealing how they were left in tears.
Bondi vet, Dr Chris Brown was one of the first to give his insight.
“Sweet Mini knows and feels your love @amandarosekeller. But the biggest blessing is she doesn’t know she has lymphoma. She only feels the lifetime of endless love ❤️,” he wrote.
“Oh Amanda, Harley and boys, my heart is breaking for you,” former Gogglebox star Yvie Jones added. “You are doing everything perfectly and your Minnie is so lucky to be leaving this way!!! She only knows love and what a life. Sending all my love for the inevitable.”
Former Channel Seven star Melissa Doyle also added a message of support.
“Oh Amanda, I’m crying with you. Their love is like nothing else. Sending you enormous hugs xxx,” she wrote.
It’s been a challenging few months for Amanda who, in March, told of the struggle of caring for her husband of almost 36 years as his health continued to decline.
In an emotional reveal on her Double A Chattery podcast, the star admitted it all became too much for her to handle on her 64th birthday.
“[Harley] had a day where he wasn’t himself and it brought up a whole lot of bad stuff in me,” she shared.
“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’.”
Amanda gave more details about how Parkinson’s has impacted her relationship with Harley in a May 2025 episode of Jonesy & Amanda, when she discussed her wedding anniversary.
“It’s my wedding anniversary today. And in the old days, Harley and I would have been going out to dinner tonight. But he’s not well enough to do that,” the star shared.
“In sickness and in health. And yet that’s where we are. [You have] no concept of what that means until you’re living it.
“And I kind of fluctuate between taking great pride in the fight that we are alongside each other, and the strength that it takes to get up every day and still fight it and still live it.
“But I don’t think you can get to 35 years without the sands shifting between you beneath your feet. If you’re living life, you don’t get to cherry pick life.
“You engage with it as you find it. And Harley’s very stoic, but it’s hard. And, you know, I’m grateful today that here we are, 35 years and we’re still in it together. But it’s hard.”
She went on to say that she doesn’t dwell on “what ifs” because she thinks “that’s just where madness lies”.