Mel Schilling, relationship expert on Nine’s Married at First Sight, has died aged 54 following a battle with cancer.
Schilling’s husband, Gareth Brisbane, confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday night, sharing details of her final moments and reflecting on her life and legacy.
This morning on Nine’s Today, her MAFS co-expert, John Aiken, spoke emotionally about his former colleague.
“It’s a very sad day for me and everyone in the MAFS family and her nearest and dearest. It’s tragic and it happened very quickly,” Aiken began in his interview.
“[She] lights up a room. She was a real role model for for young women. I felt on that show. You know, very ambitious, a fantastic wife to Gareth. So just admired her. And, you know, I got a front row seat to her.
“[We] connected on the show 10 years ago… we held on and just went for the ride. She was my partner in crime through all of this. So, you know, I couldn’t have done it without her. It won’t be the same now.
“We had a lot of fun off set and she was always someone who made things a lot lighter. She was very much a glass half full person. We loved her.”
He added, “She, she loved love. She was completely committed to the participants – she wanted everyone to get the fairy tale.
“I remember this particularly; there was moment where one of the grooms decided to leave the experiment and abandon his wife on the couch. Mel got up and [sat] beside her and cuddled her – the compassion that you know, the care and that she really felt for all the participants.
Aiken concluded, “She was dealing with a lot in terms of this very aggressive cancer, and yet you would have never known it. She just kept just pushing forward.”
Aiken also shared a heartbreaking post on Instagram last night, saying in part, “I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe.
“She came into my life 10 years ago and together we rode this MAFS juggernaut, being there for one another through it all.
“Nothing could prepare us for what lay ahead, but she was always in the fox hole with me.”
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MAFS expert Mel Schilling dies aged 54 after cancer battle
Schilling had been a central figure on Married at First Sight for the past decade, becoming one of the show’s most recognisable experts and a key part of its format and success.
She stepped away from the show in February after 10 years on the program to focus on her health and family.
Schilling was first diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023. In March 2026, she revealed her condition had become terminal after the cancer spread to her brain, sharing that her oncology team had told her “there’s nothing further they can do”.
Her health had deteriorated over Christmas, when she began experiencing “blinding headaches and numbness” down one side of her body.
“I honestly don’t know how long I have left, but I do know I will fight to my last breath and will be surrounded by the love and support of my people,” she said at the time.
Top image: Mel Schilling with John Aiken. Image: Instagram