Just 12 days ago John Aiken was wishing his Married At First Sight co-star Mel Schilling well after she shared with fans that her cancer had spread with no options to recover left. Now, the relationship expert is remembering a close friend that he will painfully miss beyond words.
Speaking to 9News, Aiken broke down in tears as he tried to comprehend such an incredible loss.
“I feel like I’ve lost someone special today. MAFS for me won’t be the same. She’s a huge loss and sometimes it’s hard to breathe just thinking about her,” he confessed.
When Mel, a loving wife and mum to 11-year-old daughter, Maddie, shared the news that she was coming to terms with a terminal diagnosis on March 13th, John was one of the first to chime in with his support.
“All of me is standing with you. Whenever you need me – please know I’m there,” he commented on her post.
At the time, he didn’t realise how serious her condition had become and little time they actually had left.
“There’s no doubt that I’m struggling. It’s devastating to have someone that you’ve worked with for 10 years, who you’ve sat beside on a couch and got to know so well, to die in this way – so shockingly and so quickly,” he said.
“I was very privileged to have 10 years with her. You get to know someone so well, so this is a very, very sad day.”
John added that working with Mel on the Nine reality TV show since the very beginning has been once of the biggest privileges in his life and career. Tributes that followed the news of her death, certainly echoed that.
“With Mel, I think about the way in which she was on set, even to the end, and what I loved about her was that she just fought all the time but she kept everything inside. She never complained,” he remembered.
“She was just such an incredibly strong inspiration. She was a real leader and I always admired that about her because we never really knew what she was going through until close to the end.”
Mel’s death was confirmed on Tuesday evening by her husband Gareth, who took to Instagram with a heartbreaking statement.
“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,” he wrote.
“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.”
Gareth went on to thank their inner circle for their support, before concluding: ‘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.
“I had 15 wonderful years with my soulmate, and it was the privilege of my life to be by her side. For that, I will be forever thankful.
“Goodbye, my love. My one. Until we meet again.”
Mel was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023. In February 2024, she was given the news that the cancer had metastasised and spread to her lungs and was again given further devastating news that it had continued to spread to her brain.
Despite only sharing her terminal diagnosis with fans less than two weeks ago, her oncology team informed her there was no further treatment they could offer late last year.