ELLEN: Alex and I went to the same high school in Canberra, and grew up one suburb apart. I didn't have anything to do with him as he was in the year below and into motorbikes, not girls. At 24, we met at a mutual friend's party. We started as friends. I was emotionally fragile after the breakup of a serious relationship and he was incredibly patient with me. I don't think many men would have been.

Alex was working overseas as a motorbike mechanic for MotoGP and top Australian rider Mick Doohan, and has always travelled. We spent the first few years of our lives writing really beautiful letters to each other. And I still have them all.

Ellen and Alex Briggs live on acreage with twin sons at Mullumbimby. Paul Harris

Now he looks after Valentino Rossi. Sometimes people ask me where he is and I don't actually know. I'll say Spain because that's a fairly good bet as they have three races a year there. For me, it doesn't matter where he is: He's not here! MotoGP has afforded us a fantastic life. I hadn't considered overseas travel until I met Alex.

We planned that Alex would be home for the twins' birth in August, 2000 but they were nine weeks premature. I went into labour on the Thursday night and he was supposed to leave on the Monday. That was the only race he's taken off in 25 years.

He's away for seven to eight months a year, so we live our lives in little chunks of time. We get a chance to miss each other. The other day, with the kids away, we packed lunch and went out on the river in our tinny. We have to make our relationship a priority, so I think we work harder on it than others who see each other every day. He's very thoughtful and I'll often find a note hidden in a shoe after he's left.

Sometimes we call Alex "iPad Dad". We place the iPad in his spot at the table for dinner. He'll be having breakfast in Europe and join in the conversation.

I do have a lot of fun with him on Twitter. Once he was happy after a great win and I went, "Now's a good time to tell you I bought three beautiful pairs of shoes yesterday." He doesn't often make me a hot drink. The other day we were at a cafe and he asked, "Ellen, do you have sugar in your coffee?" I said, "Wow, 23 years together and you don't know that?"

He's happy to teach people and let them learn by their mistakes. The first time we were driving in Europe, I looked at the map and said, "It's quicker this way." Of course, it's never quicker to leave the freeway but, rather than say so, he followed my instructions.

Alex doesn't care what people think of him and I'm the opposite. He's easygoing, a perfectionist with an amazing work ethic. We'll be shopping, spot a nice bookcase, and he'll say, "I can make that." It might take him a couple of years but it will be beautiful.

He's really supportive of my comedy career and does my website. He's kind of a big deal in the motorcycle world but I'll be emailing him asking why he hasn't put a certain photo up. "Sorry, I'll get to it at 11 o'clock when I get back to the hotel. After working for 16 hours straight." "Good," I'll say. "Make sure you do."

ALEX: Ellen's humour is a big part of her personality and her moral compass is dead straight. She's helped me become stronger in my convictions as she's far more feisty than I am. She bought lucerne to feed a neglected horse in a nearby paddock and was upset when she saw the farmer trying to get him into a float and hitting him. As I mumbled, "I don't know what to do," she was off down the driveway, giving the farmer a mouthful.

She loves animals and will text, "There's a donkey that needs a home." I love her for it, but don't want to lose my family to a menagerie. The kids have named our cows after politicians, which is her doing as Ellen selects ABC NewsRadio for everyone to listen to in the car. Julie Bishop is the little one that has trouble putting on weight and the giant Murray Grey is Clive Palmer. Thanks to her, the kids seem to have more awareness on social issues and politics than their friends.

We have to make our relationship a priority, so I think we work harder on it than others who see each other every day.

When we first met, something in me clicked and I'd make excuses to be places where she was. Being apart so much, we don't argue as the time we have together is important. I've seen her gigs hundreds of times but I'll drive her two or three hours to a gig just to be with her. People ask whether I'm offended by her putdowns about me but it's just a joke. And she'll often give me the funny last line, which gets the bigger laugh.

We live on 40 acres [16 hectares] and I love returning to the quiet after the noisy, frenzied, world of racing. Ellen's way of relaxing away from it all is on our ride-on mower.

When things started to get serious, I bought her a diamond in Antwerp, hid it in the sock drawer and freaked out when she tidied up. Luckily, it was still there. So I duct-taped it to the top of the linen closet as I worked up the courage. A year later I took her for a walk to Byron Bay lighthouse and proposed. She accepted and I said we were going to stay at Wategos Beach. I told her not to worry about what she would wear. I'd dragged out all her dresses and shoes and filled the car boot with them.

I've been pretty lucky to work for great guys who've been the greatest in their field. Mechanics is really satisfying as it's logical: it works, it doesn't work. Comedy is different. But when I suggest a gag to Ellen, she says, "You get up and give that one a crack and see how it goes for you."