Married at First Sight Expert Mel Schilling has taken to social media to share a major health update as she recovers from chemotherapy for her colon cancer.
The relationship expert, 52, who was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer late last year, shared a gallery of photos to Instagram which captured her healthy day on a plate as she focuses on her recovery.
“Part of my recovery from chemo is about rebuilding strength,” she wrote alongside a photo of her breakfast of muesli and yoghurt.
Schilling, who is currently on UK screens as an expert on the eighth season of the British version of the reality show, also shared a video of herself before treatment.
She said she hadn’t known then how hard it would be.
“This was filmed very early in my chemo journey when I still had loads of energy,” she posted with the video that shows her practically skipping into the first MAFSUK commitment ceremony.
“Looking back to this day, I realise I had no idea what was ahead of me – luckily I was all about enjoying the moment & so grateful to be doing the work I love.”
The relationship expert lives full time in the UK with husband Gareth and daughter, Maddie but is back in Australia for filming for the coming months.
She said it’s tough being separated from her family but that they make it work.
“Just had a gorgeous month with my family here in Australia. My hubby and daughter came out with me for the first month of my filming journey here, and they’ve just returned to the UK, so it’s very bittersweet,” she said on Instagram.
“It’s only six or seven weeks this time around, and certainly, I’ve done longer than that. We’ve had three-month separations before, so this one is much shorter.”
Adding that she was “determined” to now focus on her “health and recovery,” she continued: “My energy is definitely returned, which is wonderful to feel like myself, to feel like I want to go for walks is an amazing feeling.”
“It’s great to be back at work here in Australia. Working with the MAFS family again is just brilliant and really is helping me feel like I’m moving into the next chapter.”
Her update comes just over a month after she revealed she had finished her final chemo session.
The Aussie star shared a sweet family snap alongside her husband and daughter to celebrate the milestone, telling fans she was looking forward to heading to Australia to begin filming season 12 of Married at First Sight.
Schilling has kept fans up-to-date with her journey, previously sharing that she was reaching the end of her chemotherapy. Ahead of her final round of chemo, she shared a photo of her partner and herself enjoying lunch, sharing with fans; “Date lunch with the big guy to celebrate my impending FINAL round of chemo 🌟 Lovely day on the river, beautiful food, a sip of wine & optimism all round 🙌🏼”
Earlier this year, the MAFS expert gave fans a rare update on her cancer battle, admitting it was “getting hard.”
The Aussie dating host who first went public with her diagnosis in 2023 spoke with The Mirror about her stage three colon cancer.
“I’m about halfway through and it’s getting hard,” she admitted to the publication. “Feeling fatigued and nauseous is a bigger part of my everyday life. It feels like I’m hungover or pregnant every day, which is not fun.”
The relationship expert also revealed she began her cancer treatment the same day she moved to the UK.
“In true ‘me’ fashion, the day we moved was the day I started chemotherapy. I don’t do things by halves. It’s been a tricky time as I’ve been adjusting to going through that and moving house. But Gareth has been doing most of the move so I’m very lucky he’s happy to pick up the slack.”
The MAFS star revealed to media that she initially dismissed her symptoms as jet lag.
“The last quarter of 2023, I was in Australia filming MAFS and there was a crossover with filming in the UK so I had to fly back and forth. That was hard because it’s a long flight, so you’ve got the tiredness and the jet lag and I’m 52! My body was complaining about all the long-haul flights and I thought that’s all it was,” she explained.
“My digestive system packed to a halt and I started having stomach pain. I wasn’t paying attention to my body because I was so busy. I’m a big foodie and I noticed something was really wrong when I couldn’t eat anything or even hold down a cup of tea.
“Once I got home, I realised I hadn’t eaten anything in around a week and I hadn’t been to the toilet in three weeks. I’d lost over a stone in weight and I was on a liquid diet by this point. I wasn’t even aware of how much I had lost, so things were serious. But I never thought it would be cancer.”
“As horrible as it has been, and it is, let’s not sugar-coat it a tough call, there is some sense of purpose, I guess,” she added. “I’ve realised that I do have a platform and while it’s lots of fun to use it for entertainment purposes, I also get to use it to raise awareness.”
“Since I’ve been diagnosed I’ve connected with a lot of charities and I’ve learnt so much.”
Mel took to Instagram in December 2023 to share with fans her cancer diagnosis, explaining she “knew something still wasn’t right.”
“On Thursday I was told I had colon cancer and in an instant, my whole life changed.”
Revealing that she would be undergoing surgery to remove a 5cm tumour from her colon before beginning chemotherapy, she added: “Despite this I feel incredibly blessed that it’s a cancer that is relatively easy to eradicate, I’m expected to make a full recovery though it’s a rough road ahead.”
“I also feel so lucky to have an incredible support network around me, both personally and professionally, my own family and my TV family have been amazing these past few days.”
