Mel Schilling to step down from MAFS UK following saddening health news

Mel Schilling will step down from her role on Married at First Sight UK due to her ongoing battle with colon cancer.

In December 2023, Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer after a tumour was discovered during a scan, though it was successfully removed and she was given the all clear.

In early 2024, small nodules were then discovered in her lungs, and her cancer had metastasised.

In a post shared on Instagram, Mel wrote: "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."

But over the Christmas period, Schilling began to experience headaches and numbness and after tests, she was told the cancer had spread to the left side of her brain.

"Despite subsequent radiotherapy sessions, my oncology team have now told me there is nothing further they can do," she wrote.

She continued: "Hearing those words changes everything. So that’s where I am now. 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."

Upon this sad news, Channel 4 has confirmed that Married at First Sight Australia expert John Aiken will step in for Mel, sending love and support to her and her family in this difficult time.

"Over five series of Married at First Sight UK, and 12 series of Married at First Sight Australia, Mel has become a hugely valued and much-loved part of the Channel 4 family; to many of us she is a friend as well as a colleague.

"Her wisdom, warmth, humour and kindness shine through, and these qualities mean that everyone involved in MAFS, from the producers and contributors, to the viewers, love and respect her as much as we do."

With the upcoming season of Married at First Sight UK currently filming, the channel confirmed that Aiken "has done us the great favour of stepping in for her this series".

Aiken has been an expert on Married at First Sight Australia since the show's launch in 2015, and has worked alongside Schilling since 2016. A former cricket player turned relationship specialist, Aiken once played for Auckland and Wellington.

Schilling had previously confirmed that the current MAFS Australia season would be her last, confirming the news on social media that she wanted to spend more time with her family and focus on her health.

"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," Mel wrote on Instagram.

"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."

To find out more about Stand Up To Cancer and how you can donate, visit su2c.org.uk.

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