Married at First Sight dating expert, Mel Schilling, appeared on Lorraine on Monday (January 13) to share that a year on from her colon cancer diagnosis, she is now in remission. The star also warned viewers of the signs and symptoms of the disease to look out for.
Mel, who has appeared on Married at First Sight UK, was first seen on the Australian version of the show when its second season premiered in 2016. She first shared her cancer diagnosis through an Instagram post in December 2023, captioned: “”‘YOU HAVE CANCER’, Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear.”
The star underwent keyhole surgery, where the 90-minute procedure removed the five-centimetre tumour. Since her diagnosis, Mel regularly updated fans on her condition through social media, and even became an ambassador for colorectal charity Occtopus, The Oxford Colon Cancer Trust.
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Updating viewers on her health while on Lorraine, Mel said: “I am doing well, the cancer is in remission. Ahh Lorraine it’s been a year… Christmas Eve last year, I just got out of hospital and I just made it home in time for Christmas. It was pretty grim. I was just feeling very grateful to be out of hospital but still in a lot of pain and recovering. So fast forward a year to the Christmas we have just had, it was my first cold Christmas and we went crazy. We went Christmas crazy!”
Mel shared that one of the biggest issues she had was “not listening to my body”, she continued: “I was just full speed ahead, doing my job, travelling the world, doing my thing and living my best life, but all of these symptoms were happening in my body and I wasn’t paying attention.
“There was pain, there was constipation. I hadn’t been to the toilet in three weeks by the time it became acute, and I somehow managed to ignore that.”
Mel Schilling regularly updated fans on her recovery via Instagram -Credit:Mel Schilling on Instagram
The dating expert added how she thinks women sometimes ignore symptoms due to the medical industry being dismissive of women’s pain, and continued: “Particularly as women, if we have symptoms in the abdominal region generally we say ‘I’ve got to toughen up – that’s something to do with my cycle’ or ‘It’s a hormonal issue’ and we’ve grown up knowing every month we have pain and we just have to get on with it. So we have that tendency to grin and bear it and I think there is a flow there to the medical profession where they are very quick to dismiss a woman with pain.”
While on the ITV daytime show, Mel offered advice to others facing symptoms: “It’s not an old person’s disease anymore. It used to be thought of that way but I’ve been flooded with messages from people in their twenties and thirties who have said ‘I’ve had the same diagnosis as you Mel’ or ‘I’m having similar symptoms. Thanks for the nudge, I’m going to get it checked out.’ So I think my message is, if you’re having symptoms, if you’re noticing a change in your bowel habits, let’s not be scared to talk about it anymore – it’s just poo.”
As Married At First Sight Australia is returning to our screens later on this month, the love guru also shared how to find love in 2025. She said: “Number one, make sure you are date ready. I think just because you’re single, doesn’t mean you’re ready to date. Particularly if you’ve just come out of a long term relationship, or a marriage and you’re just starting to move back into it.
“Number two is to get clear on your dating brand… When it comes to dating, particularly online dating, you need to have a brand. And really all that means is making sure the outside matches the inside.
“And thirdly, don’t do it alone. You don’t have to do it alone. Dating can be such a tough pursuit. There are a lot of ups and downs and there is a lot of rejection so if you can go through it with someone I call dating buddies or have a dating club, get together.”
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