Television relationship coach Mel Schilling, who starred in the Australian and British series of “Married at First Sight,” has died aged 54.
Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023 and said earlier this month that the disease had spread to her brain.
“Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love,” her husband Gareth Brisbane wrote in a post on her verified Instagram account Tuesday. The couple share a daughter, Maddie.
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“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,” the statement posted on Tuesday continued.
“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.”
“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,” the statement adds, before thanking friends and fans “around the world” for their support.
‘She loved love'
Schilling was a dating expert on both “Married at First Sight Australia” and “Married at First Sight UK.”
John Aiken, her long-time co-star and fellow expert in Australia, paid tribute to his “dear friend” in a post on Instagram, saying he’s “heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe.”
He said Schilling, “an inspiration, a fighter, a leader,” entered his life a decade ago and that it “was a privilege and an honor to sit beside her on the MAFS couch and watch her shine.”
“She was warm, supportive and honest, and she deeply cared about all our participants. I had a front row seat to her remarkable skills and she truly believed in the experiment. At her core she loved love,” Aiken added.
“Mel was a wonderful colleague and friend,” Michael Healy, executive director of entertainment, streaming and broadcasting at Nine Network, which airs the show in Australia, wrote in a statement shared on Facebook.
“She had a gift for connecting with people and helping them navigate life’s challenges. For years, she guided us through the complexities of the human heart with wisdom, honesty, and kindness,” he said.
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A spokesperson for UK broadcaster Channel 4 shared a similar sentiment in a statement to CNN Tuesday, saying: “We share in the sorrow that we’re sure many viewers will now feel at this terrible loss.”
The channel credited Schilling’s work as being “at the heart” of the show’s “phenomenal success” in the UK and Australia. “It reflected so much about her – her fierce advocacy for other women, her passion for healthy relationships and her mission to unite people in love.”
“For many who work for Channel 4, Mel was not just a colleague but a friend, someone who radiated joy, warmth and optimism, who energized every room she walked into, with humour and positivity,” the spokesperson added.
CNN has contacted Schilling’s representative.
Schilling was initially diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023 and “given the all clear” after a tumor “the size of a lemon” was removed, she said in an Instagram statement last week.
However, a routine scan in February 2024 revealed that the cancer had spread to her lungs, and she “underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy” while still filming the reality dating show, she added.
Schilling said that, by December, the cancer had spread to her brain and, despite radiotherapy sessions, could not be cured.
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