Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023, and revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain earlier this month.

Mel Schilling, Married at First Sight star, dies at 54

Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023, and revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain earlier this month.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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March 24, 2026 2:31 p.m. ET

Mel Schilling in Sydney on Oct. 15, 2025. Credit:

Rajdeep Kar/Getty

Mel Schilling, the psychologist who served as a dating expert on Australia's reality series *Married at First Sight*, has died.

Schilling's husband, Gareth Brisbane, announced on social media that the reality star died at 54 on Tuesday. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023, and revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain earlier this month.

Brisbane shared about Schilling's last words to him and their young daughter, Maddie. "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."

Mel Schilling in London on Nov. 24, 2025.

Hoda Davaine/Getty

The reality star's husband remembered her personal and professional triumphs. "This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 — and nailed both," he wrote. "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."

He continued, "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."

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Schilling was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1972. In 2016, Schilling debuted on the second season of the Australian version of *Married at First Sight*, the dating show where single contestants meet at the altar that first originated in Denmark. As an "expert," Schilling coached new couples through their relationships as they decide whether they will stay together over the course of a season.

Schilling appeared on 12 seasons of *MAFS* between 2016 and 2026. Despite her illness, she still starred on the show's 13th season, which premiered in February. She also appeared on over 30 episodes of the U.K. version of the show, and guested on game shows like *The Weakest Link* and *Countdown*.

Mel Schilling with her daughter Maddie and her husband Gareth Brisbane.

Mel Schilling/Instagram

The reality star reflected on her cancer's spread in her final Instagram post on March 12.

"My oncology team have now told me there is nothing further they can do," she wrote. "Hearing those words changes everything."

Schilling continued, "My light is starting to fade — 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’t 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."

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Schilling's post concluded, "If I could leave you with one thing, it would simply be this: if something doesn’t feel right, please get it checked out. It might just save your life."

Schilling is survived by her husband, Gareth, and her daughter, Maddie.

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