Mel Schilling is the latest expert to be joining Married At First Sight UK.
The relationships guru has been part of Married At First Sight Australia for years, and now she’s decided to lend a helping hand to UK couples.
But what is her background and is she even married herself?
Here’s everything you need to know about Mel Schilling…
What are Mel’s qualifications and how old is she?
Mel, 49, has over 20 years of experience as a qualified specialist in human behavioural performance and purpose.
She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a psychology diploma in 1996, following four years of studying psychology at Deakin University.
“The (not so) glamorous life in the media spotlight gives me a real buzz,” she says.
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“I love the excitement of creating a show that challenges people’s beliefs and assumptions about relationships, and I really treasure the moments when I get to show the ‘real me’ as I confront bad behaviour or get caught on camera pulling faces.”
In 2013, Mel became the first Australian to be accredited as a dating coach by the International Dating Coaching Association.
Her time on MAFSA has been filled with controversy.
In 2019, 70,000 fans signed a petition to have her fired from the show.
“It really made me think about people, especially kids who experience this type of abuse day-in-day-out, and the impact it has on self-esteem,” she said at the time.
“Personal abuse like bullying has the power to tear down every fibre of strength and resilience — and it must stop.”
Viewers were angry that Mel had criticised Bronson Norrish for labelling his wife Ines Basic a “c**t” at a commitment ceremony.
They claimed that Mel’s refusal to acknowledge Ines’ own abusive behaviour was a “double standard”.
Is Mel Schilling from Married at First Sight in a relationship?
Mel married her long-term partner Gareth Brisbane on December 24, 2020. He is originally from Whitehead in Northern Ireland.
The happy couple met online using eharmony’s matchmaking service almost 10 years ago.
“I couldn’t talk to him on the phone at first because I couldn’t understand his accent,” she told London News.
They share their six-year-old daughter, Madison.
Read more: Married at First Sight Australia: Jessika Power begs trolls to allow her to move on
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Mel and Gareth turned to in vitro fertilisation to get pregnant after the relationship expert tragically suffered a miscarriage.
“I was a late bloomer in life, like, I didn’t meet my husband until I was nearly 40,” she told Mail Online. “Then we had our daughter Madison, six, when I was nearly 42. To be finally saying our ‘I dos’ was an emotional time. It was very special.”
The pair had a commitment ceremony two years prior while they were holidaying in Bali.
“Our commitment ceremony in Bali felt more like a wedding and our actual wedding felt more like a commitment ceremony, but that’s OK,” she added. “We made things official because we were so keen to finish 2020 off on a positive note.”
Meanwhile, you can meet the rest of the Married At First Sight UK cast here.
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