MAFS’ Filip and Stella on being Mel Schilling’s last true love match

Filip Gregov and Stella Mickunaite are the only successful couple to come out of Married at First Sight (MAFS) 2026, making them the last true love match created on the show, partially by Mel Schilling, before her untimely death in March this year.

The three MAFS relationship experts, Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken, worked with all of the couples on the show to help their relationships succeed, and, in an interview with Chattr, Filip shared that Mel’s advice was fundamental in the success of their relationship.

“She was very instrumental; her input was invaluable for us at important times. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gone a distance,” he said.

Stella agreed, saying they “have a big job to do” as Mel’s final true love match, and that they hope to make her proud.

Filip went on to detail a sweet moment that happened with Mel at the reunion.

“As we were walking out of the reunion, [the experts] came up and gave us a hug, every single one of us, it was John, Mel and Alessandra. And Mel just said, ‘I’m super stoked for you two, and she gave [Stella and I] a really long embrace.”

What happened to Mel Schilling?

Mel was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2023. After a gruelling year of surgery, six months of chemotherapy and a number of lifestyle changes, Mel shared that she was officially in remission.

Mel also said the experience made her value time with her family more than ever, which played into her decision to leave MAFS Australia.

“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,” Mel said in a statement announcing her exit

Just a month after Mel shared that she’d officially stepped back from the show, she revealed to her fans that she’d received a terminal diagnosis. Then, two weeks after sharing the grim news, her husband Gareth took to social media to share the sad news that Mel had passed away.

“Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love,” Gareth began in the post which was shared on March 24.

“In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life. It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me,” he continued.