Married at First Sight’s resident relationship expert, Mel Schilling has revealed that her chemotherapy is to start next week and that she is also moving house. The therapist, who appears on both the UK and Aussie versions of the hit show, shared the news in late 2023 that she had bowel cancer and underwent an operation to remove a lime-size tumour.
Posting to her Instagram stories, Mel has updated fans on when the next step in her recovery is, with chemotherapy starting next Monday, February 26. In an update to her 196,000 followers, Mel wrote: “Packing day! Moving house (& starting chemo) on Monday so we’re in action mode over here at Brisbane-Schilling HQ.”
Fans will soon be able to see Mel at work when MAFS Australia returns on Monday, February 26, so it’s a busy day for the Melbourne-born mother-of-one who is also taking part in the new UK series of MAFS, which will air later this year. The 52-year-old lives with husband Gareth Brisbane, who she met on dating site eHarmony, and they have a daughter, Maddie.
Later on her Instagram stories, Mel also asked for tips for starting chemo, including what to take with her to the sessions. Mel appeared on This Morning in January to urge people to take notice of the signs of cancer, which she admitted she had ignored.
Mel said: “I think I was ignoring the signs for such a long time, definitely my energy had dropped but I was having such incredible gut pain, literally doubled over and shouting in pain, I stopped going to the toilet… but I was doing all this international travel, flying to Australia, the jetlag, and I found that in September and October, I had to do a quick flight back to London a couple of times with only a couple of days to recover, I wasn’t sleeping, and my whole digestive system just stopped and I just put it down to travel.”
Mel added: “This is a good news story, it’s been tough, but it was a reasonably early intervention. I mean it was still stage three cancer, it was very serious, if I’d waited a month or so longer it could have been a very different story.”
The brand new season of Married At First Sight Australia will start on E4 on Monday, February 26. The 2024 series will kick off at 7.30pm on the channel, and what’s more, it will be followed by a new Married At First Sight UK reunion at 9.30pm.