Mel Schilling ‘used last remaining strength’ before her death to whisper final words to daughter

The late Married at First Sight star is survived by her husband and daughter (Picture: Mel Schilling)
Mel Schilling’s husband, Gareth Brisbane, poignantly revealed that she spent her ‘final moments’ sharing a last ‘message’ to their young daughter.

The late Married at First Sight star died on Tuesday, aged 54, ‘surrounded by love’, just weeks after she publicly shared she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

She had first shared her colon cancer diagnosis with fans in December 2023 and, after surgery, was given the all-clear. In February 2024, however, she discovered the cancer had metastasised to her lungs and later her brain over Christmas 2025.

The Australian TV personality shared a 10-year-old daughter, Maddie, with her husband of six years, and he shared that it was for her that she used her ‘remaining strength’ just before her death.

‘In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life.

‘It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me.’

Husband Gareth said she used her ‘remaining strength’ to speak with her daughter Maddie

Later in the moving tribute, he added: ‘To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.’

Condolences have poured in from fans and friends, including former MAFS contestants and reality stars like Vicky Pattison.

Schilling helmed the Australian version of MAFS for 12 seasons and the UK spin-off for five seasons, carving her place as the ‘matriarch of MAFS’.

But off-screen, she also enjoyed a rich personal life with her family.

How did Mel Schilling meet her husband?

The Australian-born psychologist spent her 30s ‘not interested in anyone’ until she met her husband, Gareth, just before she turned 40, in 2011, on eHarmony.

She met husband Gareth when she was 39 and they had Maddie at age 42
In an interview with OK!, she said: ‘I was single for my entire thirties. I wasn’t interested in anyone. I was busy travelling the world, working overseas, I was all about building my business and just living a great life.

‘And so we were both nearly 40 when we met, and he just turned my world upside down. I was not expecting that! We met on eHarmony.’

Although Gareth is from Whitehead in Northern Ireland, he was living in Adelaide when they met while Schilling was based in Melbourne.

‘We did long distance for six weeks, which was really pivotal in the success of our relationship, because we didn’t physically meet for those six weeks, but we were communicating every day,’ she added.

After a ‘commitment ceremony’ in Bali in 2018, the pair married in 2020, settling the UK to raise their daughter in recent years.

Very early in their relationship, they decided they wanted to have children and Schilling had previously been open about a miscarriage, which she called a ‘very, very tough experience’.

She added: ‘But what it did for us is make us absolutely rock solid, so clear, that this was what we wanted. It gave us clarity.’

When did Mel and Gareth welcome their daughter?

The pair then turned to IVF.

As Schilling had explained: ‘We went down the IVF path, which was very successful for us. Maddie was one of the little eggs that was frozen for six weeks, then they popped her inside of me and boom, here she is. I had her when I was 42.’

In 2024, when talking about her relationship dynamic with Gareth, she told WHO: ‘He runs his own online business, and we’re two alphas, both very strong-willed! But we’re open to learning from each other as well.’

In the same interview, she spoke about everything she was feeling on her wedding day.