\u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo most of you, she was Mel Schilling \u2013 matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gareth went on to thank their inner circle for their support, before concluding: \u201cLife can be beautiful, and life can be incredibly cruel. But ultimately, life is fleeting, fragile, and tomorrow is promised to no one.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodbye, my love. My one. Until we meet again.\u201d<\/p>\n
MAFS’ Mel Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023. Photo \/ Instagram<\/p>\n
Schilling\u2019s friends and colleagues from all over the world flooded the comments section of the post, expressing their grief and shock.<\/p>\n
Her longtime MAFS co-star, John Aiken, also posted his own lengthy tribute to his \u201cpartner in crime\u201d, which was written alongside a throwback picture of one of their first joint TV appearances.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere it began and where it ended. It\u2019s with great sadness and heavy heart that today I lost my dear friend and fellow MAFS expert Mel Schilling. I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came into my life 10 years ago and together we rode this 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a privilege and an honour 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd behind the scenes we had so much fun. Before going on set we would sing, dance, face time her daughter and eat lollies. Every time I came to set she would squeal, jump out of her chair and run and embrace me \u2013 squeezing me tight.<\/p>\n
Married at First Sight Australia experts Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd through all of these years she was an amazing mother and wife. She was loving, committed, loyal, fun and so very very kind. And she always had as her driving force her family. She was a role model for all to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when her illness struck she never complained. She kept her challenges to herself and continued to deliver time and time again. She was an inspiration, a fighter, a leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not fair that my partner in crime is gone. She was one of the good ones. I am unravelling just thinking about it. I wanted to sit on our couch together forever. She knew my rhythms and I knew hers. But it\u2019s simply not to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aiken concluded: \u201cDearest Mel \u2013 I want to thank you for everything you have given me over the past decade. I am distraught. Sadly and devastatingly I have to accept that you are now gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe MAFS universe weeps, as does all your dearest family and friends. Particularly, all my love and prayers go to Gareth and Maddie \u2013 we have all been blessed to have known her. I love you and I miss you gorgeous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The devastating news of Schilling\u2019s death came just a couple of weeks after she took to Instagram to share that her \u201clight is starting to fade \u2013 and quickly\u201d after the discovery that the cancer had spread<\/a>.<\/p>\n The dating coach, who became one of the country\u2019s most recognisable reality TV stars thanks to her role as an expert on the smash hit series MAFS, was first diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023.<\/p>\n Her tumour was removed and she was initially given the all-clear \u2013 which, as she noted in the Instagram post, is as much as most people publicly know about her illness so far.<\/p>\n But Schilling, who officially left the reality series in January to focus on her health, revealed earlier this month that she had been dealing with a series of health setbacks behind the scenes.<\/p>\n A February 2024 scan revealed that the cancer had metastasised and was now present in her lungs.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past two years, while filming MAFS, I underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy and was later told I was eligible for a groundbreaking clinical trial specific to my gene type, due to start in March 2026. Once again, my optimism soared that I might beat this thing,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n But Schilling said her health took another turn for the worse over Christmas, when she started to experience \u201cblinding headaches and numbness\u201d down one side of her body. Further tests revealed the grim prognosis: the cancer had spread to her brain, and after radiotherapy sessions, \u201cmy oncology team have now told me there is nothing further they can do\u201d.<\/p>\n Schilling said that learning she was out of options to try to overcome the disease \u201cchanges everything\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cMy light is starting to fade \u2013 and quickly. But I am still here, still fighting, and surrounded by the most incredible love. Simple tasks have become incredibly difficult and I am relying on my beautiful family to look after me. I honestly don\u2019t 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,\u201d Schilling wrote.<\/p>\n Schilling made the announcement earlier this year that she would step away from her role on Married At First Sight, which saw her splitting her time between Australia and the UK as she also served on the expert panel for the British version of the show.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 12 extraordinary seasons, I have made the heartfelt decision to step away from my role as an expert on Married At First Sight Australia,\u201d she said at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThis hasn\u2019t been a choice I\u2019ve made lightly. In recent years, my health challenges and living in the UK spending up to three months a year away from my family is no longer sustainable. It has become clear that I must make a change that puts my family, health and time at the very centre of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. 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