Overview
- Gareth Brisbane posted on Sunday to mark what would have been their eighth wedding anniversary and wrote that he and their daughter Maddie have moved to Bali to continue healing.
- Mel Schilling died on March 24, 2026, after a public two-year battle with colon/bowel cancer that returned and spread and left doctors with no further treatment options.
- The family held a private funeral on April 9 and scattered some of Schilling’s ashes at the Whitehead lighthouse in Northern Ireland in line with her wishes.
- Colleagues and fans flooded the Instagram tribute with condolences, with comments from former MAFS expert John Aiken and public figures including Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
- Schilling was a visible MAFS dating expert who continued working through treatment, and her openness about her illness has prompted public discussion about bowel cancer and some viewers to seek medical checks.