Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has offered a devastating new update in her journey with colon cancer, revealing the cancer has now spread to her brain and her “light is starting to fade – and quickly.”
The Australian dating coach, who became one of the country’s 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. Her tumour was removed and she was initially given the all-clear – which, as she noted in today’s Instagram post, is as much as most people publicly know about her illness so far.
But Schilling, who officially left MAFS last month to focus on her health, revealed today that she had been dealing with a series of health setbacks behind the scenes.
A February 2024 scan revealed that the cancer had metastasised and was now present in her lungs.
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“Over 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,” she wrote.
But Schilling said her health took another turn for the worse over Christmas, when she started to experience “blinding headaches and numbness” down one side of her body. Further tests revealed the grim prognosis: The cancer had spread to her brain, and after radiotherapy sessions, “my oncology team have now told me there is nothing further they can do.”
Schilling said that learning she was out of options to try and overcome the disease “changes everything.”
“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,” Schilling wrote.
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She ended the heartbreaking post by thanking those who have reached out with messages of support since she went public with her diagnosis, and gave her followers one piece of advice: “If something doesn’t feel right, please get it checked out. It might just save your life.”
Schilling, 54, illustrated her post with a photo of her beside the two people she describes as her “everything”: Her husband of 25 years, Gareth Brisbane, and her daughter Maddie.
It was less than a month ago that Schilling made the announcement 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.
“After 12 extraordinary seasons, I have made the heartfelt decision to step away from my role as an expert on Married At First Sight Australia,” she announced at the time.
“This hasn’t been a choice I’ve 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.”
