{"id":362786,"date":"2026-03-24T15:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/362786\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:50:08","slug":"married-at-first-sight-relationship-coach-mel-schilling-dies-aged-54-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/362786\/","title":{"rendered":"Married at First Sight relationship coach Mel Schilling dies aged 54 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Married At First Sight (Mafs) relationship coach Mel Schilling has died aged 54 \u201csurrounded by love\u201d, her family has announced.<\/p>\n

Schilling died on Tuesday according to a statement shared on her Instagram account.<\/p>\n

The TV star, known for offering relationship advice on the hit Channel 4<\/a> reality dating show, said on Instagram earlier in March that her cancer<\/a> had spread, including to the left side of her brain, and that there was \u201cnothing further\u201d doctors could do to treat it.<\/p>\n

She explained that she underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy during filming for Mafs.<\/p>\n

Her family said in a statement following her death: \u201cTo most of you, she was Mel Schilling \u2014 matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.<\/p>\n

The statement said that in her final moments \u201cwhen 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\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven then, her only thought was for Maddie and me. This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 \u2014 and nailed both.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Married at First Sight expert shares terminal cancer diagnosis update with fansOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Schilling had previously announced she would be stepping back from the Australian version of the programme after 12 seasons on the expert panel.<\/p>\n

Channel 4 paid tribute to the relationship coach, in a statement shared on Instagram, describing Schilling as someone who \u201cradiated joy, warmth and optimism\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"'Mel‘Mel … energised every room she walked into, with humour and positivity,’ Channel 4 said. Photograph: Stuart C. Wilson\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

The statement said: \u201cWe\u2019re privileged to be the channel that is home to Mel\u2019s work, which was at the heart of Married At First Sight\u2019s phenomenal success, both in the UK and Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt reflected so much about her \u2013 her fierce advocacy for other women, her passion for healthy relationships and her mission to unite people in love.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as importantly, we\u2019d like to pay tribute to Mel as a person. For many who work for Channel 4, Mel was not just a colleague but a friend, someone who radiated joy, warmth and optimism, who energised every room she walked into, with humour and positivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone who knew her will miss all this about her and much more. We share in the sorrow that we\u2019re sure many viewers will now feel at this terrible loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

CPL Productions, who make Mafs UK, said: \u201cAll at CPL were deeply saddened to hear of the death of our beloved friend and colleague, Mel Schilling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver many years, many of us have been privileged to work with Mel on Married At First Sight, and her loss today will come as a tremendous sadness to all who knew her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMel went far beyond being just a fantastic on-screen presenter; she was a friend to CPL, and to many of us who worked with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe send our love and heartfelt condolences at this incredibly difficult time to Mel\u2019s family, friends, and all who were close to her. She will be deeply missed by everyone whose lives she touched.\u201d – PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Married At First Sight (Mafs) relationship coach Mel Schilling has died aged 54 \u201csurrounded by love\u201d, her family…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[986,258,93,61,60,1577],"class_list":["post-362786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-australia","tag-cancer","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}