Married at First Sight’s dating coach Mel Schilling has died aged 54, after being diagnosed with colon cancer.
Her family announced the news of her death on Instagram, confirming that she “passed away peacefully” and “surrounded by love” on Tuesday 24 March. “This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 – and nailed both,” her husband Gareth Brisbane wrote.
Schilling announced earlier in March that her cancer, which was diagnosed in 2023, had become terminal with there being “nothing further” doctors could do. She underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy during filming for MAFS.
“My light is starting to fade – and quickly. But I am still here, still fighting, and surrounded by the most incredible love,” she wrote.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Schilling trained as a psychologist and spent years working in the corporate world before shifting to specialise in all things dating and relationships. The star’s move into the relationship counselling world was sparked by her own journey, and came after she met her now-husband on eHarmony in 2011.
Two years later, she became the first Australian accredited by the International Dating Coaching Association and landed a high-profile role as the Dating and Relationships Expert for eHarmony Australia in 2014.
Another two years would pass before Schilling landed the role that eventually introduced her to the world – bringing her dating expertise to reality television on Married At First Sight Australia. The Australian show was in its second season when Schilling joined the trio of experts, alongside Trisha Stratford, who died in 2023 aged 72, and John Aiken.
As Schilling coached the hopeful newlyweds on MAFS, her own relationship went from strength to strength and she welcomed a daughter, Maddie, with then-boyfriend Gareth in 2015. The pair married in an intimate Melbourne ceremony on Christmas Eve in 2020.
She later said of the nuptials: “I was a late bloomer in life, like, I didn’t meet my husband until I was nearly 40 and then we had our daughter, Madison, six, when I was nearly 42, so to be finally saying our ‘I dos’ was an emotional time. It was very special.”
While early series of Married at First Sight UK were more staid affairs, the Aussie show leaned into the chaos and drama – and soon became far more popular than its British counterpart. In 2021, though, that changed. Having seen how successful the Australian version was, Channel 4 revamped MAFS UK and flew Schilling over from Melbourne to serve as an expert, this time with Paul Brunson and Charlene Douglas.
With her filming schedule growing to include stints in studios on both sides of the world, Schilling, her husband Brisbane, from Northern Ireland, and their daughter Maddie began splitting their time between the UK and Australia.
Schilling won plenty of praise for her work on both versions of MAFS, largely thanks to her never shying away from being the voice of reason, and putting both brides and grooms in their place after unacceptable behaviour. In 2023’s MAFS Australia, she wasted no time in taking controversial groom Harrison Boone to task when he claimed to have forgotten previous derogatory comments he’d made about his partner, and she offered stern words for bride Sarah on the most recent British series.
Many celebrities have paid tribute to Schilling after her death, including Alison Hammond, Elizabeth Day, Fearne Cotton, radio presenter Harriet Rose, and Love Island star Ekin Su.
Channel 4, in a statement shared on Instagram, described Schilling as someone who “radiated joy, warmth and optimism”.
Schilling is survived by her husband Brisbane and their daughter Maddie, 10.
Mel Schilling death latest: MAFS co-star ‘distraught’ as tributes pour in
Celebrities send heartfelt messages to Mel Schilling after devastating cancer update
MAFS star addresses Mel Schilling’s terminal cancer diagnosis in emotional interview
Howard Stern shares cryptic memories of Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr
Reacher star Alan Ritchson’s fist fight with neighbor caught in new bodycam footage
Last of the Summer Wine writer says sitcom would not be made today
