Oh no Rhonda! Ketut's having a baby!

He won our hearts in those insurance ads, but Balinese hunk Kadek Mahardika has found love with his own real-life ‘Rhonda’.

Coming home to Bali, it wasn’t long before star-struck locals and Aussie tourists recognised Kadek Mahardika as the smiling Balinese waiter featured in the popular ‘Rhonda and Ketut’ AAMI ads. “The guy at the airport asked me if I was Ketut and wanted my picture,” laughs Kadek, 28, a former Kuta surf lifesaver who found fame after moving to Melbourne in 2008.

“I guess he’ll put it on Facebook. It is all very funny. My mum says she’s just happy that I can come home and visit. To her, I’m just her baby; they don’t think I’m a star, but they are happy. “I love Australia. It’s a great country. I love coming home, too.” Kadek made Melbourne his home when he followed his Aussie girlfriend and their son RJ, now five, to Australia to make a new life. “After she had the baby, she wanted to move back to Australia, so I got sponsored and I followed her there,” he explains.

“We aren’t together anymore, but I love spending time with my son and I love Melbourne.” Kadek embraced Australia wholeheartedly, setting up house and settling in, despite splitting with his partner. He now works as an excavator, and is expecting his second child, with new partner Laura Jack, a 22-year-old hairdresser.

Despite his natural talent, Kadek never anticipated a career in front of the camera, or being a household name in Australia and Bali. “My friend gave my name to a casting agent who was looking for a Balinese to play a part in a commercial,” he explains. “When they rang me, I told them, ‘Mate, I can’t act.’ They wanted me to come anyway and I thought, ‘Why not?’ When I got there, they introduced me to a girl. They said she’s ‘Rhonda’ and they wanted me to flirt with her. Flirting I can do! And I got the job.”