A month on from the tragic passing of beloved Australian TV personality and Married at First Sight (MAFS) expert, Mel Schilling, her husband, Gareth Brisbane, has opened up about his family’s plan for their next chapter.
On March 24, 2026, Brisbane confirmed on Schilling’s Instagram page that the 54-year-old had passed away after a long battle with cancer, which she disclosed had been diagnosed as terminal earlier this year.
The sudden announcement led to an outpouring of emotion from Married at First Sight (MAFS) contestants, fans and the Australian public who had watched Mel Schilling on the screens for over a decade.
In a new Instagram post, Brisbane said Mel was laid to rest on April 9 and her ashes had been scattered in Northern Ireland. He went on to share that he and their daughter Maddie, born in 2015, were going to relocate to another country to help heal themselves as a family.
“In a few short weeks, Maddie and I will be welcomed back into the arms of mother Bali where we will begin our next chapter,” he wrote. “No better place to heal, a place that we all loved and where we still have some of our dearest friends who had the most wonderful blessing ceremony for Mel at our new villa last weekend.”
In response, Mel’s friends and fellow MAFS experts — John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla — both shared their enthusiasm with the family’s decision for a seachange.
“What a beautiful place. Can’t wait to have a whiskey with you before you depart to Bali. Sending all my love,” John wrote.
“Heading to Bali is the most Mel thing possible,” Alessandra joked. “Sending you both so much love as you step into this beautiful next chapter.”
Mel Schilling’s husband reveals the details of her funeral
Gareth Brisbane told Mel’s 490k followers on Instagram that their messages of support had given their family strength through their grief.
“Thanks so much for all the messages of support over the past month since our girl’s passing, Maddie and I have drawn enormous strength from how so very loved she was and is,” he admitted.
He went on to detail that Mel was laid to rest in a private ceremony held in the UK, attended by family and close friends, and it was streamed to Mel’s family back in Australia. At the service, Mel’s 10-year-old daughter, Maddie, gave a beautiful speech about her mum.
“Maddie announced on the morning of the funeral that she had written a little speech which she delivered beautifully. Every inch her mother’s daughter and I couldn’t be prouder.”
After the funeral, it was Mel’s wish for some of her ashes to be scattered at a lighthouse in Whitehead in Northern Ireland, her husband’s hometown. “It’s a special place that really resonated with her, a place where strangers say hello as you pass, and a place we can now come back to to reflect on our incredible 15 years together,” he wrote.
Mel met her husband on eHarmony in 2011 at the age of 39 after spending most of her 30s single. The couple held a commitment ceremony in Bali in 2018 before they officially got married in Melbourne in 2020.
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