Tributes flow for reality TV star Mel Schilling after losing battle with cancer

Tributes are pouring in for popular reality TV dating coach Mel Schilling who has lost her battle with cancer.

The 54-year-old psychologist and TV personality was first diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023, before publicly revealing just weeks ago the cancer had spread to her lungs and brain.

Schilling’s husband Gareth on Tuesday night said his wife had “passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love”, and beside himself and their 12-year-old daughter, Maddie.

The news of Schilling’s death quickly spread with fellow Married At First Sight stars, contestants and friends sharing tributes.

Fellow relationship expert John Aiken, who appeared alongside Schilling on MAFS for the past 10 years, lead the tributes.

“It’s with great sadness and heavy heart that today I lost my dear friend and fellow MAFS expert Mel Schilling,” he said.

“I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe.

“She came into my life 10 years ago and together we rode this MAFS 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.”

Aiken said working with Schilling and “watching her shine” had been “privilege and an honour”.

“She was warm, supportive and honest, and she deeply cared about all our participants,” he said.

“I had a front row seat to her remarkable skills and she truly believed in the experiment. At her core she loved love.

“And 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.”

Aiken said when Schilling’s 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,” he said.

“It’s 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’s simply not to be.

“Dearest Mel, 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.

“The MAFS universe weeps, as does all your dearest family and friends. Particularly, all my love and prayers go to Gareth and Maddie — we have all been blessed to have known her. I love you and I miss you gorgeous.”

Fellow MAFS co-star Alessandra Rampolla said she was struggling to find the right words because “none of them feel big enough for what I feel right now”.

“My heart is shattered. I feel so incredibly grateful for the time we shared last week. To look you in the eyes, to hold your hand, and to say the things that truly mattered. That is a gift I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” she posted to Instagram.“You were so much more than a colleague. You were a constant, a guiding force and, to me, someone I admired and learned from — like a big sister, a woman of immense heart, wisdom, and generosity.

“You welcomed me from the very beginning and made me feel at home in a space that could have felt overwhelming, always kind and generous with your light. That is who you were.“What we shared — on and off screen — was real, and I will treasure it always. Thank you for your friendship, your laughter, your strength, and your unwavering belief in love. You will be deeply, deeply missed … but never forgotten, Chica.”

Schilling’s good friend and How To Date podcast co-host Elizabeth Day also shared a touching tribute.

“I never understood the truth of the phrase ‘she lights up a room’ until I met Mel,” Day said.

“There was an inner radiance to her, a spark, a dazzle. It wasn’t just the smile or the obvious beauty. It wasn’t just the sequins she loved or the glittery eyeshadow. It was deeper than that. It was the generosity that accompanied it.

“She wanted others to shine, to feel special and to be loved. To be in her company was to feel anything was possible.

“Mel’s attitude was always ‘Why not?’ Why not aim high? Why not dance ’til the early hours? Why not have another spicy margarita? Why not meet the love of her life online at 39 (this was something we both had in common).”

Day said she “didn’t really believe it” when Schilling told her the cancer had returned.

“Mel was so vividly ALIVE. It felt like a cosmic practical joke; the universe saying: ‘Ha just kidding, I had you going there for a moment!’ I just knew that she’d be OK,” she said.

“Except that she wasn’t.

“She was told the cancer had come back the day before our launch party for How To Date, held with cruel irony on Valentine’s Day. She came to that party, swathed in fabulous gold sequins, looking stunning. We danced to House of Pain’s Jump Around. We jointly cut into a camp, pink wedding cake. She showed up. She always showed up.

“She told me over Christmas that the cancer had spread. I didn’t know how little time we’d have left. I’m so blessed that I got to see her the week before she died. ‘My girl,’ she said and we squeezed each other’s hands.

“Mel brought so much love to the world. It makes me happy to think that she found love with the amazing Gareth and their incredible daughter, Maddie.

“To watch that family go through the unimaginable has been a lesson in courage and grace. A lesson in love, most of all.”

MAFS: After The Dinner Party presenter Brittany Hockley comment on Gareth’s post, saying her heart was broken.

“My heart breaks for you. What an incredible woman,” she said.

Former MAFS star and social media influencer Laura Vaughan said Schilling was a “beacon of light to all who knew you, loved you and watched you around the world”.

“To say you were an inspiration to many would fall incredibly short,” she said.

“To know you is to be in awe of you. I remember us talking about your cancer diagnosis backstage on a campaign shoot, you grabbed my hand and with a wink you said ‘I’m a fighter, don’t you worry’ and that’s exactly what you were.

“I feel so privileged to have met you, worked with you and experienced firsthand the kindness you gave in abundance. It embodied you. This world is a lonelier place without you in it. Thoughts are with your family and those close to you. Rest easy now.”