Mel Schilling, the beloved dating expert on Married at First Sight Australia, has died at 54.
Schilling’s husband, Gareth Brisbane, confirmed the heartbreaking news in an Instagram post, sharing that she passed away peacefully on Tuesday. The couple married in 2018 and share a 10-year-old daughter, Maddie.
“Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love.
In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life. It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me.
This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 — and nailed both.
This is a woman who, through two years of chemotherapy, when she could barely lift her head from the pillow, never complained and never stopped showing courage, grace, compassion and empathy, and never missed a day of filming.
To most of you, she was Mel Schilling — matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.”
Her death comes after a long and private battle with cancer. Schilling revealed on March 12 that she had been fighting the disease for about three years. She was initially diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023 and underwent surgery the following year to remove it. However, doctors later discovered small nodules in her lungs, indicating the cancer had progressed.
Schilling was widely known for her role as a relationship expert on the hit reality series, where she helped guide couples through the challenges of marriage. Schilling had been a core part of the Married at First Sight franchise since 2016, first appearing on the Australian version before later joining the U.K. edition, according to the BBC.