Mel Schilling’s husband Gareth Brisbane shares anniversary tribute for late wife: ‘A heartache no one can heal’
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Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling’s husband, Gareth Brisbane, has paid tribute to his late wife on what would have been their anniversary.
“Hard to reconcile that the anniversary of the happiest day of my life could become one of the saddest,” he shared on Mel’s Instagram account.
Mel and Gareth married in Bali in 2018. Instagram/@mel_schilling1
The MAFS expert died aged 53 on March 24, just 11 days after sharing that her cancer was terminal.
Almost four months on, Gareth marked what should have been a special relationship milestone for the pair, alongside a photo from their wedding day.
“We didn’t quite make eight years married or 15 years together, but what a love and what a life we had,” he said.
“By the end of our first date I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and my love for you burned ever brighter, even as your own light faded.”
Gareth and Mel shared 11-year-old daughter, Maddie, who Gareth said was just like her mother.
“Sleep easy, my girl, I hope you know that Maddie and I are in the best possible place to continue healing,” he said.
“She is every inch your daughter and you would be so proud of the remarkable young woman she is becoming.”
He concluded with an Irish proverb, “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
Mel and Gareth met on the online dating site eHarmony, with the long-time TV expert being open about how he “turned her life upside down”.
After meeting in Australia, Gareth and Mel relocated to the UK in 2021. Instagram @mel_schilling1
Gareth, from Northern Ireland but living in Adelaide at the time, and Mel spoke every day for six weeks before meeting in person and from there, they were all in.
After suffering a miscarriage, they went through 12 months of IVF to welcome Maddie, born in November 2014, when Schilling was 42.
In December 2023, Mel shared she had been diagnosed with colon cancer.
She openly shared her journey through treatment on social media and became a strong advocate for getting checked.
On March 13, Mel shared her cancer had spread to her brain and her oncology team told her there was nothing further they could do.
“My light is starting to fade – and quickly. But I am still here, still fighting, and surrounded by the most incredible love,” she said.
Mel and Gareth welcomed their daughter, Maddie, in November 2014. Instagram/Mel Schilling
Gareth announced his wife’s death just days later 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,” he said.
“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.”
