‘I am alive’: Inside MAFS star’s brave cancer battle after shock diagnosis

Married At First Sight star Mel Schilling has opened up about her battle with bowel cancer, telling how her painful symptoms were initially dismissed by doctors and she was told to go home and take some laxatives.

Married At First Sight star Mel Schilling has told how she is embracing the joy of life after battling cancer.

Schilling, who is one of the relationship experts on the hit show, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2023.

She had been doubled over with abdominal pain in the months leading up the discovery of her cancer, including at times while she was on set filming MAFS in Australia and the UK that year. Her symptoms were initially dismissed.

“They (doctors) said to me ‘here are some laxatives, go away and take that and you will be fine’,” Schilling said.

“It wasn’t fine, it was a tumour the size of a lime and they were telling me take some sachets and you will be right.

“I think you know if something is not right. Because it is poo, people don’t want to talk about it (bowel cancer).

Schilling is urging people to listen to their bodies. Picture: Sprinkler Media.

“We need to talk about poo because it is so healthy and it might just save your life.”

Schilling had the tumour removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy in 2024.

“I am in remission,” she said.

“While I would love to say I am out the other side, I don’t feel I am there yet. I had a scan this week and will be getting the results next week, so it is ongoing.

“I will be having scans every three months for a while, just to keep monitoring everything.

“As far as how I am feeling in my body, I feel great, I feel really strong, I have completely recovered from the chemo, I am very focused on my health, my fitness and my nutrition and am just doing everything I can to live the most healthy life I can and to stop it from coming back.”

Schilling is now in remission after six months of chemotherapy.

Schilling said it sounded like a cliche, but cancer does change your life.

“I thought it was a cliche until I experienced it, but there is so much truth in it and for me it just put things in perspective and made it so crystal clear for me what I want to focus on and what is really important,” she said.

“Little things that used to bother me now I just look at them and go ‘ha’, I am alive, I am happy, I am healthy, my family is with me; that is what matters, so much other stuff does not matter anymore.”

Schilling said her message to others was to listen to your body.

“I had abdominal pain and constipation, loss of appetite and loss of weight and lots of fatigue,” she said.

“All of those can often be signs of other things going on hormonally or with periods or menopause, and it is so easy for doctors to dismiss what you are feeling.

“As women we are always told if you are having abdominal pain just suck it up, you will be fine.

“I think the message is don’t ignore your own symptoms. If something in your body does not feel right, get help and don’t take no for an answer.”

The relationship guru says this year’s MAFs contestants are more relatable than in past years.

Schilling is back on MAFS this year, the new season launches on January 27, helping the show’s couples navigate their relationship ups and downs.

She said this year’s contestants were more relatable than in past years.

“In previous years we have had one big dramatic moment or one big dramatic couple and a lot of other people’s stories have revolved around them,” she said.

“This season we have so many different little stories happening with couples and between other individuals and between other couples. There’s a really interesting dynamic compared to what we have had before.”

She said the show had built an emotional connection with its audience.

“I think our audience sees a lot of themselves in the show,” she said.

“I often hear from people that they look at a couple and they see a pattern in the way they fight and they think, ‘Oh, that looks like me and my partner’, or they see a behaviour in someone and they think, ‘Oh, my ex behaved like that or my current partner behaves like that’. I think there is a real emotional and personal connection that people develop. It is almost like a bond that our audience has with our couples and in many ways with us as well.”