Dialling in from her home in London on a Tuesday evening, Mel Schilling doesn’t give a hint of weariness. Hours earlier, she announced to the world she was finally in remission after a year-long battle with Stage 3 colon cancer. “It’s been a big year,” she tells WHO. You can hear the relief and gratitude in her voice. Now, she’s looking forward to a drama-free life ahead – in her personal life, anyway, with her husband, Gareth Brisbane, and daughter, Maddie.
When it comes to her career, however, drama is in the job description. The 52-year-old returns to TV this week, dishing out relationship advice – and some hard truths – to the Season 12 brides and grooms on Married at First Sight Australia.
Mel tells WHO that continuing to film both the Aussie and UK versions of the show helped her push through her cancer treatment. It was the perfect distraction from chemotherapy, which she did in tandem with her demanding schedule.
“I was filming MAFS UK throughout that time which was very tough, but I tell you what, I needed to work,” she insists. “It was a very important part of my recovery, actually – having that purpose and feeling like I was still me, which was
so important.”
Ever since sexologist Alessandra Rampolla joined the fold in 2021, the women have become a dynamic duo who’ve called out the most divisive participants and, alongside psychologist John Aiken, also helped spouses flourish beyond the experiment. “It’s brilliant,” she says of her and Alessandra’s on-screen chemistry. “You can probably tell we have strong feminist sensibilities, so when we have that opportunity, particularly if there is a man that’s being disrespectful towards a woman, it’s good to be able to do that and step in and call it out.”
This year, viewers will see another crop of singletons make the ultimate commitment – and again, some of their true colours will be exposed. We’ll also see some of the most problematic newlyweds ever witnessed on MAFS, as Mel explains.
“I have to say, it’s not just the men, and there are certainly times this season you’ll see us coming down pretty hard on some of the women as well, who are behaving in a way that’s disrespectful. There’s also downright nasty behaviour we won’t stand for.”
While the bad behaviour is part of MAFS’ charm, at its heart, it’s a show about love. “Sure, we don’t always get it, but essentially it’s a scientific question: can people actually find love when they meet at first sight?” she says.
In her 11th season, there will be a MAFS first. “We throw this curveball into the mix – and that’s the temptation of other people. So each partner has the opportunity to meet someone else outside of the experiment. We end up with this incredible dilemma where we have some couples who say no and then other couples that jump in and see if the grass is greener, and then we have other couples where one says yes and the other says no. You can imagine what sort of drama that will bring.”
There has been success with couple-swapping in the past, like Duncan [James] and Evelyn [Ellis], who hooked up post-show, but dangling the carrot just when you think newlyweds will leave the experiment with their forever love is sure to make good TV. “It can work,” Schilling insists.
“We’re always trying to improve the format and strive to make it as close to real life as possible. This is something we know couples definitely encounter in the real world. Nothing makes you sit back and reassess a relationship more than jealousy or having feelings for someone else.”
