Married At First Sight star Mel Schilling has died at the age of 54 after a battle with colon cancer that spread to her lungs and brain. Her husband Gareth Brisbane announced her death on Tuesday, prompting an outpouring of tributes from colleagues and friends.
This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shepard paid tribute live on air, interrupting their broadcast to remember Schilling as “bright and colourful”. Shepard read a statement from Brisbane, noting that Schilling spent her final moments surrounded by love and used her last strength to send a message to him and their daughter Maddie.
John Aiken, who worked alongside Schilling on MAFS, shared a lengthy tribute on social media, describing himself as “heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe”. He wrote: “It’s not fair that my partner in crime is gone. She was one of the good ones.” Aiken praised her warmth, support and honesty, and said she “deeply cared about all our participants”.
Writer Elizabeth Day, who co-hosted the How To Date podcast with Schilling, called her a “radiant, shining light” and expressed gratitude for their friendship. Other tributes came from model Lisa Snowdon, singer Natalie Appleton, and presenter Fearne Cotton.
Schilling worked on both the UK and Australian versions of MAFS. She stepped away from the show after her diagnosis and was replaced by Aiken. Her final social media post, days before her death, admitted she “didn’t know how long she had left” and that her “light was fading quickly”.
