“I’m always blown away”: Amanda Keller talks candidly about what she’s grateful for
Amanda Keller is one of Australia’s most successful media figures but she explained to Now To Love that she never expected to be working at the age of 57.
The mother-of-two has been working in radio and television for the last 30 years and she has more than enough to keep her occupied.
As she co-hosts WSFM’s top-rating breakfast show Jonesy & Amanda as well as hosting Ten’s hit show The Living Room, Keller has also found time to co-host Dancing With The Stars.
DWTS is a show Keller is particularly impressed with, and it helps that she gets along with co-host Grant Denyer so well.
"It's a stack of fun – what can I say?" she declares with passion. "People get to see their favourite stars outside of their comfort zones. It's just great TV."
"Sometimes it's hard to get us to shut up when we're together on set," says Keller about her friendship with Denyer.
"I've come to learn we're really similar people. Spending more time together, we've realised we have quite a bit in common. The stuff he doesn't like, I'm not a fan of. We just seem to be on the same page all the time."
When she’s not a staple on TV and radio, she raises two teenage boys, Liam and Jack, alongside her husband Harley.
"I'm always blown away by what good humans they are," she explained.
“They are truly so funny and so caring. They don't ever take my job too seriously – I find that so refreshing. They know it's just a job that I do. They are very fantastic and well-balanced children, and I'm so grateful for that.”
As her job keeps her in the public eye, Keller says that it’s a daily challenge to not overshare about her life, especially as she now has the potential to upset her sons as they’re older now.
“Radio is live, Dancing With The Stars is live and then working with some of my best friends on The Living Room, there's always that chance I'm going to share too much. I sort of have to remind myself occasionally and be like, "We're on air!" because I just love to blab, whether it's about my personal life, or my co-stars, or my children.
“That's another big challenge – when they were babies I could say what I wanted. Now, they're older, I probably need to be a bit more judicious about what I'm putting out there.”
Although Keller knows that she’s a staple on Aussie screens, being reminded of that can sometimes be a bit challenging.
“I went to South Africa for a recent holiday and when we came back, I'd almost taken for granted that people didn't know who I was over there! I've had my photo taken in a public bathroom many times!” she shared.
“You have to think – toilets, dentists' surgeries, doctors' surgeries… maybe not… but it happens! With that said, my teenage self would've loved the idea of me having a job where people recognise me and respond to the things I'm saying. My diary was full of exactly what this dream life is, so I'm grateful.”