Mel Schilling’s husband and child who are her ‘everything’ after terminal diagnosis

Married At First Sight star Mel Schilling declared her husband Gareth and daughter Maddie are her ‘everything’ as she revealed she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer

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Mel says her daughter and husband are her ‘everything’(Image: @mel_schilling1/Instagram)

Mel Schilling declared her husband and daughter are her ‘everything’ as she revealed the heartbreaking news of her terminal cancer diagnosis.

The Married At First Sight star, 54, announced the heartbreaking news of her terminal diagnosis in an Instagram post last night. Mel explained she was initially diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023 before being given the all-clear.

Mel was then diagnosed with cancer again in February 2024 after ‘small nodules’ were found on her lungs. She had been expecting to start a ‘groundbreaking clinical trial’ in March this year but, after experiencing ‘blinding headaches and numbness down her right side’ Mel was told the cancer had spread to the left side of her brain and doctors told her there was nothing more they can do.

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Mel and Gareth have been married for seven and a half years but together for 14(Image: @mel_schilling1/Instagram)

As she announced the tragic news, Mel posted a photo of herself hugging her husband Gareth and daughter Maddie tightly. She added how she is now “relying on my beautiful family to look after me”. Mel also declared the pair are her “everything” before signing off the message.

Mel has been married to husband Gareth for seven and a half years – but have been together for a total of 14 years, after meeting on dating site EHarmony. In a adorable post in July last year, Mel marked their anniversary and gushed over their relationship – calling Gareth her soul mate. As she shared a string of snaps from their time together on Instagram, Mel gushed: “Happy 7th Anniversary to this guy No 7 Year Itch here!”

She gushed: “7 years married, 14 years as soul mates. I don’t believe in luck but we finally found the partners we both deserve.” Mel added: “So grateful for you, my mate, my opposite, my rock, my motivator, my soft place to land and my comedy partner”. Signing off the sweet tribute, Mel penned: “Love you, my one x”.

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The couple welcomed Maddie via IVF(Image: @mel_schilling1/Instagram)

The couple moved to the UK in 2021 with their daughter Maddie, 10. Mel and Gareth conceived their daughter through IVF after Mel suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage. She previously told OK! magazine in 2022: “We were older parents – 42 – when we had her. I had her through IVF and that was a challenge for us to go through, but so worth it.”

She added: “I got pregnant when I was 40 and had a miscarriage and that really changed things. That was a real eye-opener and just made me realise how much I wanted a child. Both of us did.”

She continued: “We tried for 12 months until I was 41 and had no joy.’ Mel shared: “Then we thought, ‘OK, we don’t have time on our side now,’ so we did one cycle of IVF and were so lucky, as there she was.”

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The couple live in the UK(Image: @mel_schilling1/Instagram)

While parenthood can put a strain on some couples, Mel revealed raising Maddie together has made her and Gareth’s bond even stronger. “Being parents has changed us because it’s made us more of a team,” she said. “When you’re a couple without a child, you can still be quite selfish and bring a lot of your single life into your relationship, but once you have a child, there’s no opportunity for that.”

While Mel, Gareth and Maddie live in the UK now – she still regularly travelled back Down Under to take part in Married At First Sight Australia. In November, shortly before jetting back to Oz again, Mel shared snaps of her and Gareth spending quality time together and gushed over her supportive beau.

“A quick Winter mini-break with G before I pop off to Aus for my final trip of the year,” she wrote in the caption before continuing: “So great to get some time together … we’ve spent 3-months apart every year for the past 10 years – a big sacrifice for the career I love”.

Mel added: “Sometimes you just need to down tools, pick up a glass of bubbly & jump into a rooftop jacuzzi with your one to reconnect & invest in yourselves. Love you Big Guy x”.