Husband of late MAFS coach Mel Schilling marks wedding anniversary with tribute
By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
The husband of Married At First Sight (MAFS) star Mel Schilling has paid tribute to his late wife on what would have been their eighth wedding anniversary.
The Australian TV star, known for offering relationship advice on the hit Channel 4 reality dating show, died earlier this year aged 54.
Her death came just weeks after she had announced that doctors could no longer treat her cancer.
Her husband Gareth Brisbane has paid tribute to his late wife in a post to her Instagram page commemorating their first wedding anniversary since she died.
Brisbane shared a snap from their nuptials where he is holding their daughter Maddie and kissing Schilling, and wrote: “Ah my one.
“Hard to reconcile that the anniversary of the happiest day of my life could become one of the saddest.
“We didn’t quite make eight years married or 15 years together but what a love and what a life we had!
Death leaves a heartache no-one can heal, love leaves a memory no-one can stealGareth Brisbane
“By the end of our first date I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and my love for you burned ever brighter, even as your own light faded.”
The post continued: “Sleep easy my girl, I hope you know that Maddie and I are in the best possible place to continue healing.
“She is every inch your daughter and you would be so proud of the remarkable young woman she is becoming.”
“Death leaves a heartache no-one can heal, love leaves a memory no-one can steal,” he added.
Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023, and underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy during filming for MAFS.
The TV star previously said she was “so grateful” for her husband, who she described as her “soul mate” in a post on Instagram last year to mark their seventh wedding anniversary.
Her family announced her death on March 24th, saying she “passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love”.
A month later, Brisbane shared a post to his late wife’s social media page announcing that he and his daughter were moving to Bali for “our next chapter”.
The Indonesian island is where Brisbane and Schilling tied the knot in 2018.