Married at First Sight's John Aiken has spoken about filming the new season of the reality dating show without his longtime co-star Mel Schilling. The beloved dating coach died in March at the age of 54, after doctors had informed her that the cancer she had been diagnosed with had spread to her brain.
A 'bittersweet' return to set
While attending the Logies in Australia – which is Australian TV's big awards night – Aiken described it as a 'bittersweet' return to the Channel Nine set to film the latest series. Speaking to Nine.com.au on the red carpet on Sunday, he said: 'It's a little bittersweet with Mel not being here now, it's sort of difficult at times. But, we are flying the Married At First Sight flag.'
Fellow show veteran and sexologist Alessandra Rampolla agreed that the atmosphere behind the scenes had significantly altered, saying: 'Yes, it's very different this year, but we are really enjoying the process of creating something new also.'
New expert joins the panel
The duo are currently filming the 2027 season of the show, after it was reported that MAFS Australia has cast a new relationship expert for the programme. The new love coach goes by Dr Lurve and has billed herself as Australia's number one relationship expert on her Instagram. Dr Lurve, whose real name is Brigitte Zonta, is understood to have signed on for the show's 2027 season, according to the Daily Mail.
Aiken also spoke at the Logies about the progress of the upcoming 14th series, revealing that the contestants are already being forced to confront their bad dating habits – but he didn't say anything about the reports of the new dating coach.
Contestants face early tests
'It's early on in the experiment, so with that being the case, they're really being tested in terms of whether they're able to open up and let someone in, or whether they're just going to keep to their old patterns and basically rule people out,' he explained. 'That's always fascinating, to see who dives in.'
