Mel Schilling, one of the dating experts on Married at First Sight, has passed away. In 2023, Mel received a colon cancer diagnosis. By the following year, her cancer had sadly metastasised. Mel leaves behind her doting husband, Gareth Brisbane, and their ten-year-old daughter, Maddie.
Mel Schilling is dead aged 54
Following Mel’s passing, her husband posted a heartfelt statement on her Instagram account. “Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love,” he began. And then, he remembered the strength Mel showed as her health declined.
“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,” Gareth penned, understandably leaving out what his wife had said.
As Gareth recalled, “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.”
Gareth ended his post with a bittersweet reminder that “Life can be beautiful, and life can be incredibly cruel. But ultimately, life is fleeting, fragile, and tomorrow is promised to no one. If you can do anything to honour Mel, please live life to the full, love your people well, and try not to sweat the small stuff.”
Married at First Sight is streaming on Peacock.
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