The support the Blue Heelers star has given him has enabled the Gold Logie nominee to find the confidence to tackle the rigours of his comeback stand-up comedy tour.

'It's going well,' the notoriously private Rove, 34, acknowledged in a recent interview. 'We're very happy, and I'm very happy, and it's a nice time and place to be in.'

He and Tasma, 33, seretly began dating last year but have been a low-key couple and kept their relationship fairly private. But the happy duo couldn't hide their love, as our exclusive pictures show. The pair were perfectly at ease publicly displaying their obvious affection for one another on a recent romantic stroll in Melbourne.

And when Rove made his successful return to the rigorous stand-up comedy circuit with a gig at Adelaide's Fringe Festival, Tasma's unflinching support was central to the challenge. The reassurance she provided confirmed that she has certainly helped heal the heart broken by the cruel loss of Rove's wife Belinda Emmett to cancer.

'I'm in a very different place in a lot of ways,' he says. 'Last year was me sticking my head back out of my shell, and now I feel
I can get back out and actually just walk around.

'Last year was the first step of a journey, and here I am now. And, as part of any journey, you look back at it and I've come a long way.'

Tasma's been by Rove's side, supporting him during his live stand-up comedy comeback after a three-year break while he helped nurse Belinda. It's now 17 months since Belinda, 32, lost her battle with cancer and, while no-one ever fully recovers from the loss of a loved one, Rove appears to be opening a new chapter of his life and embracing fresh challenges and his new tilt at love.

'I have scars, but the wounds have healed,' the Rove Live host says.

While he's baring his soul on stage in his sell-out stand-up tour, Rove initially went to great lengths to keep his budding romance with Tasma under wraps, in a bid to protect their privacy and avoid the pressure of a public relationship - but that's all changed.

Rove took Tasma on a secret break to Indonesia and Cambodia in February, spending seven days taking in the sights and mingling with wildlife in his role as ambassador for Fauna and Flora International (FFI).

The loved-up couple, who swam in the rivers and explored
the jungles during their trip, were brave enough to ride elephants in north Sumatra.

'I've been an animal tragic my whole life so the decision to work with FFI was an easy one,' Rove says. 'You haven't lived until you've looked an elephant in the eye.'

The triple Gold Logie winner, who finds out on Sunday if he has won another golden gong, celebrated his 34th birthday with Tasma while they toured Britain, visiting Stonehenge and meeting Sir David Attenborough, also an FFI spokesman. Rove, who's had sell-out shows in Adelaide and Melbourne, is on
a roll since he returned to TV last year, making Who magazine's annual Most Beautiful People issue.

'He's still funny, still charming, but with the professional and private experiences that have shaped him, it's time we let him be a man,' Who says.

Rove adds: 'No matter what happens with my career, being a live comic will always be a huge part of it.

'Being on tour also gives me a chance to pretend to be a giant by washing my hair with tiny shampoo bottles and drinking those little bottles from the mini-bar.'